Laurie Lacewing: Book 1
by PrincessForever
Summary: A spin-off of the Harry Potter series, taking place at the Salem Witches' Institute in the U.S. Chapter Six is UP! Sorry it took so long! :)
1. Prologue and A Birthday Wish Come True

Note: The ideas of witchcraft and wizardry, the Salem Witches' Institute, and any references to the Harry Potter series belong to J.K. Rowling, a very inspiring author. Laurie and the rest are mine.  
  
It was a dark and stormy night in New York City, darker and stormier than many had ever seen it. Heavy rain poured down and the wind blew it sideways, so strong that it felt like a swarm of bees to anyone who walked in it. The power had been knocked out at around nine o'clock, and many emergency generators were failing all over the city. The only light came from an occasional bolt of lightening that cracked open the night sky with fury. Most families had gathered together and those who lived on the street sought shelter wherever they could find it. No one wanted to be out on a night like this. A few brave policemen patrolled around and the rest of the city seemed to be waiting, hidden. Then, around midnight, things suddenly seemed right again. The wind died down, and the rain slowed from a downpour to a drizzle and finally to a peaceful mist. The clouds parted and the moon could be seen, high and waning. Slowly, the power came back on, and Manhattan resumed its normal glow. Everything seemed to have righted itself, and it had, with the exception of one thing.  
  
Just a few miles from the city, a tall and elegant woman with a long black braid walked almost silently, except for the sniffles of grief she allowed herself every couple of minutes. Beside her, on a stretcher that appeared to be floating in midair, was a man with mouse brown hair. His skin had already taken on the cold gray of death. Every time the woman looked at the man on the stretcher, she seemed almost overcome with grief, until she finally reached the quiet street, on which the Water Mill Farmhouse stood. She pursed her lips and quietly blew out the streetlights in front of her for the next five miles as someone would blow out the candles on a birthday cake. With almost painful footsteps, she approached the front door of the Water Mill Farmhouse, the stretcher still at her side. "You needn't hide from me, Samantha," she said softly. Seconds later, a cloak was thrown to the ground and a short, skinny woman stood before the tall one. Her hair was gray and pulled back in a bun, under a pointed hat.  
  
"Oh, Nancy! It's really true then!" Samantha cried, spotting the body and the stretcher.  
  
"Yes, Samantha. It is really true." Nancy pulled a wand from inside the robe she wore and muttered something. The door in front of them swung open smoothly, and the two women walked inside, stretcher in tow.  
  
"How did he do it? And when? And what are you going to tell his wife?" Samantha was asking, as Nancy lifted the man from the stretcher onto the couch in front of them. She arranged his body so it looked like he had fallen asleep on the couch, never to wake up again.  
  
"According to report, he managed to hold the bond between the brother wands for longer than ever. It backfired and killed Luxor, but it also took every ounce of strength Bill had." Tears glistened in Nancy's eyes as she looked at the man on the couch. "By the time I arrived, it was too late. Bill was beyond our help.but Luxor was already gone."  
  
"Dead?" The word was laced with hope.  
  
"I hope for as much, Samantha."  
  
The women slowly walked out of the house, somber and silent. As Nancy relocked the door, Samantha turned to her with a gasp. "Nancy! You didn't leave a note for his wife! How will she know the truth?"  
  
"She won't. It was his dying wish." Nancy stooped and picked Samantha's cloak up from the ground. Samantha took it and wrapped it around herself, her body disappearing as she did so. She looked to Nancy for further explanation. Nancy sighed reluctantly.  
  
"When I arrived, as I've told you, Bill was beyond my help. He was still alive, but barely. His words.I will never forget his words as long as I live."  
  
"What did he say, Nancy?"  
  
"First, he told me I was the best headmistress Salem has ever seen. I couldn't bear to tell him the truth," Nancy smiled wryly. "Then, his eyes grew desperate. He grabbed my hand and said, 'Don't tell Jocelyn! Not now, please. She wouldn't be able to stand this burden. If she ever needs to know, tell her. Just please.let her live a normal life!' I agreed and then.it was over. Bill was gone." Nancy gave a distressed sigh and Samantha put a tiny hand on her arm.  
  
"Nancy.I've been watching his wife all day." Samantha seemed to be having difficulty saying what she needed to say. "She's a Muggle, first of all. One of the better ones, though.believes in magic, loves fairy tales, you know the sort. She was all worried when Bill told her he'd be home late from work. It's clear she loved him dearly. But Nancy.there's something we didn't know.something not even Bill knew."  
  
"What is it, Samantha?"  
  
"Nancy.Bill's wife is pregnant. It's a girl, Nancy, and she'll be a powerful witch, I can tell! But without telling her about who and what Bill was, I."  
  
"It will be better for the child this way. She will understand better when she is older. And so will her mother. We've spent enough time here, Samantha. Let's go." Samantha nodded and lifted the hood of her cloak over her head, now completely invisible. Nancy listened to Samantha's retreating footsteps, and returned to the place where she had entered the street. She paused for a moment, staring at the Water Mill Farmhouse. Then, she kissed her fingers lightly and threw the kiss towards the street. The streetlamps lit up again, giving the street a warm glow.  
  
"Good luck, young Miss Lacewing. See you in eleven years," she whispered, then quietly left the street.  
  
The next morning, at six fifteen, the quiet street was disrupted by the sound of Jocelyn Manning Lacewing screaming as she found her late husband on the couch.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Eleven years and nine months passed, and it was July, in the dead center of a hot and sticky summer. To be more specific, the date was July 15, and the Water Mill Farmhouse in Water Mill, New York was alight with a relatively small celebration. A small chorus of voices rang out in song, singing happy birthday to the only child who had lived in that house for more than a decade.  
  
"Make a wish, Laurie!" her mother exclaimed, hugging the girl's shoulders. The eleven-year-old's blue eyes sparkled as she looked at the candles on her cake. Everyone she cared about surrounded her. Her mother, Jocelyn Lacewing, had taken the day off from working in the office to make sure her daughter's birthday was as happy as possible. Gram and Pop Manning were there, along with her Aunts Jackie and Jaime and their children. Her late father's brother and sister-in-law were there, Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie. They'd brought the one person Laurie had not wanted at her birthday party, her cousin Derek, who was a year older and always treated her horribly. He was sneering at Laurie as she bent over the cake to blow the candles out, her straight brown hair falling in her face annoyingly, but she didn't care. Derek could make faces at her all he wanted. Today was her eleventh birthday and she was the happiest girl in the world.  
  
Laurie was nothing amazing to look at. She had a pretty round-shaped face that was sprinkled with freckles and was tall and lanky, like most eleven-year-old girls. She had deep dimples in her pink cheeks and her eyes always gleamed mischievously when she smiled. With the exception of her startlingly blue eyes, she looked exactly like her late father had, when he was alive. The eyes came from her mother, a tall and shapely blonde who had once been a model in the City. This very same mother was watching Laurie with a happy smile as the girl closed her eyes to make a wish. Eyes screwed up tightly, she breathed her wish so that none could hear it.  
  
"I wish something wonderful would happen!" she whispered, and then with delicate breath, Laurie blew out all eleven birthday candles. The applause was deafening, except for Derek, who merely continued to glare in Laurie's direction. She ignored the look on his face as Aunt Jackie handed her a present, which, when opened was revealed to be yet another Barbie doll. Aunt Jackie, who had four sons, seemed to think Laurie was the daughter she'd never had, so she had a warped sense of her niece's tastes. Politely, Laurie thanked Aunt Jackie, and slipped the Barbie doll on the floor next to her seat. Her mother squeezed between Laurie and her pile of presents to rescue the cake and begin cutting it up. Meanwhile, Aunt Jaime had placed a large box in front of Laurie, which, when opened was revealed to be yet another soccer ball. Aunt Jaime, the complete opposite of Aunt Jackie, had four daughters and wanted to turn Laurie into the son she'd never had. Laurie called a thank you to Aunt Jackie and dropped the soccer ball to the floor, next to the Barbie doll. Gram Manning had sidled up next to Laurie and dropped several twenties into her lap saying, "I'd rather let you choose something than choose something you didn't want." Laurie could have kissed her, and did, on the cheek.  
  
"Alright, here's the first piece of cake for Laurie!" Mrs. Lacewing exclaimed, then whispered in her daughter's ear, "Once the mob leaves, your present's up in your room. I think you'll like it."  
  
Laurie grinned. Her mother always chose the best presents. She was about to dig into her cake, when Uncle Harry grabbed her wrist, giving Derek a warning look. Laurie saw Derek reluctantly put something back in his pocket and slink off to sulk in the living room. Uncle Harry followed him, and Laurie knew that Derek was in for a big lecture. Aunt Angie, however, stayed behind and handed Laurie a large box.  
  
"Happy birthday, sweetie," she said, planting an enormous kiss on Laurie's cheek. "There's a great deal of stuff in there, only I'd prefer you not open it here." She looked a little nervous, but Laurie smiled in agreement.  
  
"Okay, Aunt Angie! Thanks!" she piped up and took a bite of cake. She nearly choked on it when she heard an explosion in the living room. Everyone stared at the doorway between the dining and living rooms.  
  
"Is everything alright in there?" Mrs. Lacewing called.  
  
"Everything's fine, Jocelyn! Don't worry, we shall leave your house unscathed," Uncle Harry called back, and everyone had a good chuckle.  
  
"Angie, dear, you know I adore Bill's family, but.well, you all seem a bit odd to me," said tactless Aunt Jackie. "What does Harry do for a living anyway?"  
  
"Oh, he's in government," Aunt Angie replied vaguely as Mrs. Lacewing handed her a piece of cake. "Consequently, I have no idea what he does."  
  
"Didn't Bill work in government before he died, Jocelyn?" Pop Manning asked his mouth full of punch and chocolate cake.  
  
"Yes. I never had the foggiest idea what he was up to," Mrs. Lacewing answered with a laugh, helping herself to her own piece of cake. "We had such fun times. Laurie reminds me so much of him."  
  
"I didn't know Dad worked for the government," Laurie stated, having been too involved in the conversation to even think about her cake. "What branch was he in?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know, something top-secret," her mother laughed again.  
  
"Is that how he died?"  
  
The room grew silent at Laurie's question, which aggravated her. Her father had died just after she was conceived, but she had no idea why or how. No one ever talked about it, though it seemed many people wanted to. Aunt Angie was biting her lip as if trying to keep from crying out a secret and Mrs. Lacewing looked about ready to cry.  
  
"Laurie, I.we'll talk about this later tonight, Laurie. Go play with your cousins, now." Mrs. Lacewing's voice was quiet and trembling, which frightened Laurie. She stood up from the table, carrying the box from Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie with her, and forgetting the doll and the ball and the money. She ignored her noisy younger cousins, who were playing something that involved lasers and Cabbage Patch Kids, and went outside. There was a spot under the maple tree in her back yard that was always shady and cool. She sat down in that spot, holding the box in her lap and wondering what had gone wrong. The snapping of a twig startled her, and she looked up, more than surprised to see Derek looking at her, not with disgust, but with an odd mixture of compassion and friendliness.  
  
"Hey." he said.  
  
"Hey," Laurie replied, looking back down at the box again.  
  
"You, ah.you seemed upset when you came out here. Are you alright?" There was kindness in Derek's voice that Laurie had never heard before.  
  
"I guess." Laurie didn't really want to expand on that. Derek had never seemed to care if she existed before, and she wasn't sure that she could trust him to care now. For a moment, he looked like he was about to say something, then thought better of it. Instead, he sat down next to her.  
  
After a silent moment, Derek spoke up again. "Why don't you open the present we got you? It's really cool.it'll make you feel better." Laurie blinked at him, her blue eyes matching his brown ones.  
  
"Aunt Angie said to open this alone, so that's what I'm going to do!" she retorted, not sure what caused the fiery words to come out of her mouth. Derek laughed, running a hand through his wispy brown hair.  
  
"I helped my mom choose this stuff to give to you. Trust me, you'll love all of it, and it'll make more sense if me or my folks are around to explain it. C'mon, open it! I wanna see your face when you do. You'll love it." Derek sounded insistent, so Laurie hastily ripped off the wrapping paper and removed the cover. The first thing she saw looked like the back of a picture frame. She picked it up and turned it over to see a picture of her parents on their wedding day. It looked just like the other pictures of their wedding day, only this picture was.moving. They waved at her and her father gave her mother a kiss. It was like watching a home movie without sound. She looked at Derek questioningly.  
  
"Our grandparents took that one. Mom had a copy made for you. There's another one right here." He pulled out another picture frame that had just her father in it, seemingly around the same time as the wedding. Her father kept winking good-naturedly and laughing. Laurie tried to suppress the tears that came to her eyes, but a few managed to escape. She brushed them away before Derek could make a big deal out of them.  
  
"Keep going! There's some great stuff in here!" he exclaimed, continuing to dig. The next thing was a book that read The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One.  
  
"Well.that's, ah.nice," Laurie commented. She wasn't too much into magic, but Derek just smiled at her.  
  
"You'll need it soon. Here's another cool thing," he continued, pulling out a box that read, "Caring for Your Broomstick 101". The back of the box listed the contents, which included polish, straws, and a book on broom maintenance. Laurie couldn't help but feeling that this box was getting stranger and stranger, the further Derek dug. He must've noticed the strange look on her face, because he paused. "Is something bothering you?" he asked.  
  
"Well, ah.I just don't see what I would do with a book of spells and a broomstick care kit. And the pictures of my dad are really great, but." she trailed off. Derek sighed and looked down at the grass.  
  
"My mom told me that they hadn't told you or your mom. I thought she was lying." he mumbled. Laurie stared at him, waiting for further explanation. Finally, Derek looked up. "Maybe that's why my dad wanted me to come out here and talk to you. I mean, aside from the fact that we're going to be at the same school next year and all."  
  
"Since when am I going to a private boys' school? Derek, what are you talking about?" Laurie demanded. Derek looked her square in the eye.  
  
"You're a witch, Laurie. Just like your dad and mine and my mom and me. Your dad was one of the best wizards that ever lived. I mean, he was amazing. He died saving the witches and wizards in America from the biggest evil we'd ever faced. I was just a baby, and you weren't even born yet, but."  
  
"That's ridiculous!" Laurie exclaimed, not sure if her indignation was out of anger, joy or disbelief. "My father worked for the government. He died of natural causes."  
  
"He died, Laurie, because the puppet ruler of the worst wizard to ever exist drained all his strength. Your dad defeated this guy, but he gave his life to do so."  
  
"That's.that's not.it's just.not possible," Laurie stammered, looking down at the winking man in the picture.  
  
"Just listen, Laurie. You're a witch.you must know it. Come on." Derek seemed to be looking for plausible proof. "Okay, have you ever made something happen when you were angry or scared? Something that you couldn't explain?"  
  
Laurie was about to say no, when she remembered only a month ago, when someone had broken into their house. He'd held a gun to her head, but somehow, she'd made the gun turn to glass and smash in his hand. Come to think of it, Laurie had done a lot of similar things her entire life. Defeated, she glanced sideways at Derek.  
  
"Why didn't he tell my mom? Or did she just not tell me?"  
  
"He didn't tell your mom.he didn't want her to know. He thought it would be a burden to her and he wanted her to live a normal life." Derek dropped his gaze again. "He didn't even know that you were going to be born."  
  
"Well, I.what am I supposed to do about being a witch? Do I just go live in a hut, grow a wart and mix things in cauldrons the rest of my life?" Laurie sputtered. This was all coming as quite a shock to her.  
  
"Not exactly," Derek answered, suddenly perking up again. "You're going to be getting a letter pretty soon. It'll be delivered by owl."  
  
"By owl..."  
  
"Just listen. My mom and dad are going to try to stick around until the letter comes. Don't tell your mom. They'll explain it all to her when you get your letter."  
  
"What's the letter about?"  
  
"It's an invitation to come to school at the Salem Witches' Institute." Derek seemed ready to explain further, when someone started calling him from inside. "I'll explain later, when you get the letter. Don't worry about it, Laurie. It'll be the best thing that ever happened to you."  
  
Laurie felt herself smiling at her usually ornery cousin, who smiled back congenially. He jumped up and gave a quick wave before running into the house. Laurie, meanwhile dug through the rest of her box, finding several types of candies she'd never heard of, like Bertie Bott's Every- Flavor Jelly Beans. She also pulled out gift certificates to robing stores, bookstores, wand stores and even a wizard pet store. At the very bottom of the package was a large bag of gold coins with a key and note attached to it. The note read:  
  
To Miss Laurie Lacewing Vault 217, Gringotts of West Watchmaker Way, New York Miss Lacewing, Your father has left you a considerable amount of money in this vault. Please see a representative in the front of the bank when you wish to access it. Thank you for banking with Gringotts.  
  
Putting the note back in the box, along with all of her other wizard treasures, Laurie decided she'd never had a better birthday. This was the first year her wish had come true. A witch! What could be more exciting than that?  
  
Laurie didn't have to wait long for her letter. It came five days later, at around noontime. Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie were staying at her house still, and she and Derek were digging through her wizard candy supply. After several boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans and a couple dozen Chocolate Frogs, both of them were feeling very full and exhausted. Mrs. Lacewing called up to ask them if they wanted anything for lunch, and the reply was a weary "no" from both ends. Laurie lay sprawled out on her bed, thumbing through the contents of her book on broom care, when there was a sudden flapping noise outside. Derek gave her an excited smile. "This is it!" he cried. The cousins leapt up and dashed downstairs and towards the front door. As they barreled past the adults, Mrs. Lacewing asked, in as stern a tone as she could muster, "And where do you two think you're going?"  
  
"We're, ah.going to get the mail!" Laurie answered truthfully. Giving her daughter a skeptical glance, Mrs. Lacewing nodded. Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie smiled, knowing exactly what had caused Laurie and Derek's excitement.  
  
The two children ran outside to the mailbox, which Laurie pulled open hastily. Among the junk mail and bills, she found it: a parchment envelope with the seal of the Salem Witches' Institute on it. It was addressed to Miss Laurie Lacewing of the Water Mill Farmhouse, Water Mill, New York. Squealing in excitement, Laurie raced past Derek back inside and right between her mother, aunt and uncle.  
  
"Mom! Look what I got in the mail!" she exclaimed breathlessly.  
  
"Wow!" Her mother seemed unimpressed, not quite sure what the letter was. "Is that a party invitation or something?"  
  
Laurie had opened the envelope and, in a hushed tone, read the letter aloud. "Dear Miss Lacewing, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Salem Witches' Institute in Salem, Massachusetts. Congratulations!" Mrs. Lacewing made a motion to say something, but Laurie kept reading. "Please report to Platform 10 ½ on September 1 at ten o'clock in the morning. The New Hogsmeade Direct will take you to New Hogsmeade Station, from whence you shall depart for the Institute. I look forward to seeing you there. Sincerely, Nancy Frankincense, Headmistress. P.S. Please see the enclosed list of supplies you will need for the upcoming school year." Laurie looked up from the letter, beaming. Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie were smiling as well, and Derek, who had just reentered the house, managed a smile between gasps of breath. Mrs. Lacewing looked concerned.  
  
"Is this.is this some sort of practical joke or something?" she managed, finally, staring at Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie.  
  
"Not a joke at all, Jocelyn. This is something Bill wanted to tell you, before he died, but never got the chance to," Aunt Angie said, softly.  
  
"What are you talking about? Bill worked for the government. He." Mrs. Lacewing seemed at a loss for words.  
  
"No, Jocelyn. Bill did not work for the government, in the official sense. He did belong to the Department of Magic, and he was going to tell you as soon as he could, only." Uncle Harry trailed off. "Jocelyn, our family are wizards. We have been for thousands of years, before this continent was even discovered. Laurie has inherited quite a bit of her father's talent in that area."  
  
"Bill was a.a wizard? That's nonsense! No.it's.impossible!" Mrs. Lacewing dropped her gaze. "Why wouldn't he have told me?"  
  
"He wanted to protect you, Jocelyn. Times were dark eleven years ago. Your husband defeated the most evil wizard to ever surface on this continent, and lost his life in the battle," Uncle Harry tried to explain, his emotions surfacing. Aunt Angie put her hand on his forearm and looked Mrs. Lacewing in the eye.  
  
"Jocelyn, the point here is not how or why Bill died, though I think you have a right to know. The point is that Laurie is a witch, and going to Salem will give her the best education she can get in the Americas," Aunt Angie said, steadily. Mrs. Lacewing seemed to be conceding.  
  
"How much would it cost?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing. Except, of course, for books and supplies, but that's not going to be a problem. Bill left you and Laurie a considerably large inheritance.in wizard money, that is." Aunt Angie gave a shy smile and Mrs. Lacewing returned it with a pale, exhausted look. She turned to Laurie.  
  
"Laurie. Is this something you really want to do?" she asked weakly. Laurie swallowed hard.  
  
"Oh, Mom.it'd be great! It.it would make me feel closer to Dad, I know it would. Please, Mom, please?" Laurie was almost in tears, begging. Mrs. Lacewing gave her a tender smile.  
  
"How can I say no to that? What do we need to do?" she asked. As Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie began discussing school supplies and the train with Mrs. Lacewing, Laurie felt her heart doing a little dance of sheer happiness. Her birthday wish had come true. 


	2. West Watchmaker Way and New Friends

Chapter Two  
  
Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie left with Derek late that night, promising Laurie and her mother that they would see each other soon. After they'd gone, Laurie and her mother stayed up late, talking about all that had happened. Laurie felt more gratitude for her mother that night than she'd ever felt before. Her mother was brought to tears at the sight of the pictures Laurie had received from Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie, just as Laurie had been. For a while that night, Mrs. Lacewing stayed up with her daughter, telling her about how she'd met her husband, how they'd fallen in love, and how she'd reacted to his death. It seemed to Laurie as if her every dream was coming true, so fast that she could hardly keep up.  
  
The next three weeks passed at an unbearably slow rate for Laurie. She kept in constant touch with Derek, asking him all sorts of questions about the Salem Witches' Institute. Finally, one Friday morning, she woke up to Derek pounding on her door. It was time to head for West Watchmaker Way and buy her school supplies. Mrs. Lacewing had decided at the last minute to let Laurie do her school shopping with Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie, and stay home. She hugged Laurie tightly and waved as the four travelers headed back down the street to Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie's house. Laurie realized, with a start, that she'd never been to Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie's house, and nearly fell over in shock when she stepped inside. The house was decorated in an odd hodgepodge of furniture and magical items, like wands and broomsticks. Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie seemed relieved to be home and quickly ran to their room to change from their "Muggle clothes" into their "normal robes." Laurie followed Derek up to a room that he called hers.  
  
"Mom decorated it for you over the summer. She figured you'd want something like this," Derek explained. Laurie couldn't say anything; she was so impressed with the room. Everything was decorated in pale, almost translucent, silvery laces. Pictures of her father, mother and grandparents decorated the dresser on the far end of the room. All of them were waving to her, merrily. The closet door was open, and Laurie could see a few robes inside of it. Derek saw her looking at the robes and smiled. "Dad got them for you. With Mom's help, of course. They figured you'd want some sort of non-Muggle clothes to wear to West Watchmaker Way. That way you won't stand out so much."  
  
"Thank you," Laurie breathed. She could hardly wait to see West Watchmaker Way and buy the things she would need to start her schooling at Salem.  
  
Supper that night was merry and fun. Laurie had questions about every little thing, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie explained everything in great detail, from the clock with locations on it rather than numbers to the trick wands that Derek kept leaving for people to find. Derek also seemed to be enjoying himself, explaining to Laurie why they did not use such things as a telephone or the Internet.  
  
"Owls take care of all our mail and stuff like that. 'Course, whenever we want to send mail to you or your mom, we have to send it in the Muggle mail. First time I did that, I put too many stamps on and the mailman gave it back," Derek was explaining, with a cheerful laugh.  
  
"There'll be a big owlery at Salem," Aunt Angie added. "That way you can send mail to your mom and to us."  
  
Laurie nodded; fascinated by this world that was so other from that in which she'd lived her entire life. Lying in bed that night, she stared at the ceiling, which was bewitched to look like a clear night sky. It was all so amazing and magical that she could hardly stand it. Laurie barely got any sleep that night, but rather than being tired when Derek came to wake her up the next morning, Laurie was wide-awake with anticipation. Today would be her first day experiencing the wizarding world. She dressed quickly in the robes she found in the closet and raced downstairs.  
  
"Laurie, you're going to wake up the entire neighborhood!" Aunt Angie said with a laugh, in between swishes of her wand that flipped the eggs and bacon perfectly. On the nearest counter, a paring knife was busily cutting up fruit for a fruit salad that looked positively delicious. Derek and Uncle Harry weren't downstairs yet.  
  
"Where're Uncle Harry and Derek?" Laurie asked, sitting down at her place at the table. The glass in front of her immediately filled with milk.  
  
"Digging Derek's trunk out of the attic. They'll be down as soon as the eggs and bacon are done, though, I can guarantee you that much," Aunt Angie promised, nodding to the stairs. Sure enough, as soon as the food ceased sizzling and flew past Aunt Angie and Laurie to the plates set out at the table, Uncle Harry and Derek were downstairs and seated at their places, their glasses filling with orange juice and milk, respectively.  
  
"Just so that you know, Laurie, we'll be heading for West Watchmaker Way by means of Floo Powder," Uncle Harry stated between bites of bacon and egg. Before Laurie could ask what Floo Powder was, they had to duck to avoid being hit with the fruit salad. It filled their bowls nicely and Aunt Angie finally sat down, her glass filling quickly with cranberry juice. She must have sensed Laurie's confusion, however, for she immediately explained that Floo Powder was a wizard's way of traveling by a system of fireplaces. Still a bit perplexed, Laurie nodded and finished her breakfast in record time. She was eager to get to West Watchmaker Way. She didn't have to wait long, because as soon as Derek had finished his breakfast, he was jumping around his parents' chairs with the excitement of a small boy, begging them to hurry up and finish so they could be on their way. Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie finished their breakfast quickly, too, and headed for the fireplace in the living room.  
  
"It's pretty easy," Derek was saying, as Laurie observed her uncle and aunt in front of the fireplace. "Just throw a little Floo Powder into it and walk right into the fire and say 'West Watchmaker Way.' It'll take you there pretty fast. If you say it clear enough, you won't have to worry about going too far or not far enough."  
  
"I'll go first, Laurie, and you can follow me. Just do exactly as I do," Uncle Harry was saying. Laurie nodded and watched as Uncle Harry threw some powder into the fire, turning it a vibrant shade of green. In a deep, loud voice, he spoke, "West Watchmaker Way!" and walked into the fire, vanishing before their eyes. Laurie blinked in surprise and Derek laughed at her reaction.  
  
"You go next, Laurie, and I'll go right after you, so that if you get lost, I can find you on the way," he promised. Laurie nodded, and took a handful of Floo Powder from Aunt Angie. Making sure that what little she already had was safely in hand, she tossed the powder into the fire and watched it turn the same shade of vibrant green. With an uncertain look at Derek, she spoke.  
  
"West Watchmaker Way."  
  
Not waiting for her fear to catch up to her, Laurie stepped into the fire and watched as things began spinning around her. Oddly, she saw a series of fireplaces zooming past her at an alarming rate, and closed her eyes to keep from getting sick. Then, with a jerk, it all stopped and she fell to the ground with a loud thud. Someone reached down and helped her to her feet, pulling her gently away from the fireplace. Once the room stopped spinning, she realized that it was Uncle Harry.  
  
"Have a nice trip?" he asked. Laurie was unable to answer because at that moment, Derek stumbled through the fireplace, smiling widely at Laurie and Uncle Harry.  
  
"I love Floo powder!" he exclaimed.  
  
Shortly thereafter, Aunt Angie arrived and the four started to explore West Watchmaker Way. Having been there the year before, Derek seemed to know everything about the place, pointing landmarks and stores out to Laurie. He seemed desperate to do some shopping in Quality Quidditch Supplies, but Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie were dead-set on heading to Gringott's first. When Derek started to whine, Aunt Angie pointed out that it was impossible for Laurie to buy anything without money, so he conceded and they headed for Gringott's. The bank itself was something ancient, straight out of Europe with enormous Romanesque columns and gilded double doors. Once inside, Laurie was a bit more than surprised to see that the bank tellers were short little things with pointed noses and ears and most disagreeable expressions on their faces.  
  
"They're goblins," Derek explained. "Not very nice, but they're good bankers. Your money's really safe here, honest." Still, Laurie could not help but feel skeptical of these bizarre creatures. Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie approached the first available station as if this was something they did normally, and Derek and Laurie followed. The goblin in charge of that station glared down at them. He was seated on what seemed to be a tall stool and looked quite unhappy to be dealing with Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie.  
  
"We need to make a withdrawal from Vault 819 and Laurie Lacewing needs to make a withdrawal from Vault 217," Uncle Harry stated casually. "And here are the keys." He pushed two keys through the hole in the grate at the goblin, which glared at the keys as if they were the ugliest things he'd ever seen.  
  
"Very well," he growled, and motioned for Uncle Harry and Laurie to follow him. Before she could ask what was happening, the three of them were in a mine cart, pulling up in front of a vault that was labeled "217". The goblin indicated that she should get out, which she did, and he followed her. With a grunt, he inserted the key into the lock and the vault swung open. Laurie could hardly believe her eyes. Inside the vault was a small mountain of gold and silver coins.  
  
"Your inheritance, Miss Lacewing. How much do you wish to withdraw?" the goblin asked, his voice gentling at the sight of her astonishment.  
  
"Ah.I'm not sure. How much would you recommend?" she asked, reaching for the pile. The goblin seemed to be mentally tabulating, then took three bags off of the wall and filled them with coins. He handed the bags to her, and she nearly collapsed with their weight.  
  
"That should be enough to get you to Christmas break. Then you can come back here and make another withdrawal." The goblin seemed a lot kinder than he had at first, and Laurie wasn't sure whether to feel grateful or pitiful that even goblins felt sorry for her. She didn't have much time to think this over, however, for as soon as Uncle Harry had made his withdrawal, the family was making a whirlwind trip through West Watchmaker Way. There was Flourish and Blott's, the bookstore, where Laurie almost overloaded her new cauldron with books. Quills, ink and parchment were followed by beautiful school robes from Gladrags. She enjoyed especially the trim on the navy blue robes, which was a lighter shade of blue, spangled with white stars, though Derek made fun of her for enjoying the sight of herself in the robes too much. Then, while Derek went to get his broom polished at Quality Quidditch Supplies, Laurie went to buy her first wand at Ollivanders: West.  
  
Inside, she found a little man with a minimal amount of curly white hair on his head. He wore half-moon glasses and smiled brightly when he saw her. "Laurie Lacewing, right? You have your father's hair and face." She grinned at the greeting. "And I've had a special wand selected for you since we learned of your birth." He reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a dusty box that had Laurie's name written on it in gold leaf. Quietly, he removed the wand from the box and held it out to Laurie, who was amazed at the rushing sensation she felt with it in her hand.  
  
"I knew it!" the little old man cried, obviously delighted. "One feather from a Pegasus.this wand will serve you so well, Laurie! You will be a wonderful witch!" And Laurie beamed with pleasure as she left the store. Derek met her immediately outside and dragged her by the wrist to the pet store, where he was eying a pair of dancing turtles longingly. Laurie, on the other hand, decided that it was high time she had her first pet ever and used her birthday gift certificate to buy a tiny gray tabby kitten. He'd looked up at her and said "Hello," when she first reached the back of the store, so naturally, Laurie could not resist.  
  
"How do you like 'Gruffles' as a name?" she asked the kitten as they left and he most definitely smiled at her.  
  
"Well, Laurie, you've got everything you need for school this year. Is there anything else you want to buy? Some candy perhaps? Some jokes? Or perhaps.?" Aunt Angie was asking as Laurie and Derek returned to where she stood with Uncle Harry outside of a tavern.  
  
"A broomstick, Laurie!" Derek exclaimed. "C'mon, let's go back to Quality Quidditch Supplies.they have some awesome broomsticks there. I think they even have the Nimbus 2001, but I'm not sure." Helpless to argue, Laurie followed Derek to the Quidditch store, where she saw an array of broomsticks, uniforms and balls. Derek had explained the basics of Quidditch to her, so she could easily identify the bludgers, quaffles and golden snitches in their respective cases. Not many people were in the store, so Laurie was able to walk right up to the counter, smiling at the man behind it.  
  
"And what can I do for you, miss?" he asked.  
  
"I'd like to see the Nimbus 2001, please. And have a price quote on it," she added, quickly, hoping that it wouldn't cost too much. The man nodded and disappeared into the back of the store, returning with a pair of brooms, one sleek and black, the other sleek and silver. Derek, who had followed her into the store, gaped at the beautiful brooms and eyed the branding on the handles.  
  
"They go for two hundred Galleons apiece," the store clerk said, and Derek immediately lowered his eyes.  
  
"That's a lot, Laurie," he said, softly, but Laurie barely heard him. She was looking into the sack of gold coins she'd received for her birthday, and was delighted to find exactly two hundred Galleons there. She handed the sack of money to the man behind the counter and left the store with the silver broomstick. Several young witches and wizards stared at her jealously, and Derek's face had reacquired the scowl it used to hold whenever he looked at her.  
  
"So.do you think this was a good use of my money?" she asked. Derek barely nodded. "Well.I've never ridden a broom before, so I was thinking maybe you could teach me. I mean, you'd be able to ride my Nimbus and all and.well, I." But Derek's smile had already returned, and he was nodding wildly.  
  
The family ended up spending two more weeks on West Watchmaker Way. Laurie became quite accustomed to her new schedule of flying lessons in the morning, then reading her new schoolbooks with a mug of butterbeer in the afternoon. Often, Uncle Harry and Aunt Angie would bring friends to dinner with them, so Laurie was getting to know many families relatively well. Then, one night, Uncle Harry came storming into the hotel suite, arguing with Aunt Angie.  
  
"You know I don't get along with Myrna, Angie!" he shouted as they entered. Laurie and Derek dropped their schoolbooks in surprise. "And Rafe and I only get along when it comes to the good of the school. Yet, you insisted on inviting those two and their snotty little daughter to dinner with us!"  
  
"Hush, Harry, don't let Laurie and Derek hear you talking like that." Aunt Angie walked from her and Uncle Harry's room in the suite to where Laurie and Derek were studying for school. "Get into your best robes, you two, and come down to the dining room immediately."  
  
"What's going on, Mom?" Derek asked as Laurie walked over to the closet and pulled out some silvery robes that had been waiting for her at her Aunt and Uncle's house.  
  
"I've invited the Serpentines to have dinner with us tonight. They're here buying supplies for their daughter Julia. It's her first year at Salem, too, so I expect that the three of you will find plenty to talk about. You'll need to be on your best behavior. Myrna is an old school friend of mine and Rafe is an associate of Harry's from work." She sighed, seeing the looks on Laurie and Derek's faces. "You needn't look at me like that. It won't be anything unbearable. Now hurry up and get into those robes."  
  
Ten minutes later, Laurie emerged from the bathroom, looking as stunning as possible in her silvery robes. Derek, too, was dressed to the nines, in black velvet. Seeing him looking so nice, his dark brown hair slicked back and a charming smile on his face, Laurie almost burst out laughing, but resigned herself to a small smile. The two of them, once through with sizing the other up, walked calmly down to the dining room. Sitting at their usual table were three new people. There was a man, who was rather short and stubby, all except for his nose, which seemed ten times too large for his round face. He was balding, and what little hair remained on his head was a silvery gray. He watched Laurie and Derek take their seats with beady black eyes. The woman next to him also seemed rather out of place. She was rather tall and thin, with an exceedingly long neck and a pointy face, so that she almost looked like a human ostrich. Her eyes, too, were ostrich-like: the size of grapefruits and dark brown. Her black hair rested atop her hair in a small pouf, with a stripe of white going through the middle like the stripe of a skunk. This, contrasting with her milky white skin, made her look very much like an ostrich indeed. To the left of the man sat a girl who could only be their daughter. She had inherited just the right qualities from her father and mother to make her stunningly beautiful. Her hair was shiny and black, her face heart-shaped and pale as snow. Her eyes were large and dark brown, but she wore a horrible scowl that ruined her otherwise extraordinary beauty.  
  
"Is there a problem?" the woman finally asked, as Laurie and Derek sat down. "Are there no other empty seats?"  
  
"This is our table." Derek began, but Aunt Angie glided in at just the right moment, her auburn hair shining sleekly and her brown eyes sparkling. She looked absolutely amazing in a set of golden robes. Derek seemed completely startled to see his mother looking so beautiful.  
  
"Myrna Serpentine, it's been too long!" Aunt Angie cooed, kissing the air next to the woman's ear. The woman seemed annoyed.  
  
"Hello, Angelica. I was just sending these miserable brats away from your table," Myrna squawked, in a very ostrich-like voice. Laurie felt her own eyes widen at this, but Aunt Angie managed to keep her cool.  
  
"This is my son, Derek," Derek bobbed his head curtly, glaring at Myrna, "and my niece Laurie." Laurie followed suit, and caught the girl staring at her icily out of the corner of her eye. Laurie returned the gaze and took her seat as Uncle Harry hurried down, out of breath and harried. His robes, like Derek's, were black velvet and very fine, and his dark brown hair was combed neatly. He did not look at all happy to be there, but greeted Myrna and the man with a cool handshake.  
  
"Hello, Rafe," he murmured, and Rafe returned the coolness of the greeting with a nod. It was clear that if anything positive existed between the two, it was nothing more than professional courtesy. Uncle Harry took his seat.  
  
"Allow me to introduce my daughter to you," Myrna squawked. "This is Julia Estelle Serpentine. She is a brilliant witch already; I half-expected Hogwart's to demand that she come overseas and study there, but I suppose Salem will do."  
  
"What's Hogwart's?" Laurie whispered to Derek behind her hands.  
  
"It's the best wizarding school in the world. It's in England. But Salem's really good too. Don't worry.it's just the one's like her that you have to watch out for. And there aren't many over here," he replied softly. Laurie giggled softly, eliciting a sharp glare from Julia.  
  
"And how'd you get into Salem, Laurie? Probably had to sell all the crappy stuff you owned to pay the headmistress to even consider you, huh?" Julia asked, snidely. Laurie's eyes flashed, but before she could defend herself, Uncle Harry spoke up.  
  
"Actually, Julia, Laurie is a brilliant witch, just like her late father," he replied, calmly.  
  
"And who was he? Some party magician?" Julia smirked.  
  
"My brother, Bill Lacewing," Uncle Harry answered, coolly taking a sip of his newly refilled butterbeer. Julia's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. Myrna dropped her fork and Rafe snorted sherry out his nose.  
  
"That's Bill Lacewing's daughter?" he sputtered, wiping his face.  
  
"Why, yes! With that hair and face, who else would she be?" Aunt Angie asked softly. The Serpentines were silent for several minutes after that, and Laurie noted, with small amounts of delight and disgust that Julia was far nicer to her after her parentage had been revealed.  
  
Only a few days later, the Lacewings pulled up to Penn Station in their rented car. Aunt Angie, having been Muggle-born, knew quite well how to drive it. She and Uncle Harry escorted Derek and Laurie through the barrier between platforms 10 and 11 with their trunks and other luggage (a rather bizarre experience for Laurie), then waved good-bye as the New Hogsmeade Direct pulled out of the station.  
  
"Why don't I stick your stuff up here?" Derek offered, finding Laurie an empty compartment in the middle of the train. With some difficulty, he hoisted her trunk and other things to the overhead storage. Laurie still held Gruffles tightly to her, and Derek was about to sit down next to her, when someone called his name. "Hey! Larry! Amanda! Great to see you!" With little more regard for his cousin, he left to sit with Larry and Amanda. Laurie found herself quite alone in the compartment, with the exception of dear Gruffles. Still, she felt confident that Derek would return eventually, with Larry and Amanda. Her hopes had dimmed considerably when he still had not returned an hour later.  
  
Cities, towns and countryside rushed by her window as Laurie, feeling completely abandoned by Derek, finally broke down and decided to have a pity party, with Gruffles as the only guest. Before the festivities could begin, however, a pair of identical blonde heads poked into the entrance to her compartment. Though the hairstyles were quite different (one clearly a boy's, short and spiked; the other clearly a girl's, thick and curly), it was clear that Laurie was looking at twins. Identical brown eyes blinked at her and identical mouths smiled at her. Laurie smiled back, and the two people moved completely to the doorway of the compartment. They were already in their school robes, and a tiny white owl was perched on the girl's shoulder. Their grins grew even wider.  
  
"Hi," Laurie managed.  
  
"Hi," they replied. The boy extended his right hand.  
  
"I'm Scott Kimball, and this is my twin sister."  
  
"Sarah," the girl finished, shaking Laurie's other hand. "What's your name?"  
  
"Laurie Lacewing," she answered, and the twins' eyes grew large.  
  
"Is your.is your dad.Bill Lacewing?" Scott asked, when he'd finally found his voice.  
  
"Well-I suppose-he was." Laurie shrugged. "I never knew him."  
  
"Oh." There was an awkward pause, and then Laurie motioned for Scott and Sarah to join her in the compartment. They did, their warm smiles returning. Sarah was immediately enchanted with Gruffles, who bowed to her and greeted her as "my lady."  
  
"You're so lucky," she sighed, scratching Gruffles behind the ear. "We got some extra money for our birthday, but combined, it was only enough for this guy." She indicated the snoring owl on her shoulder. "His name is Corleone. We're supposed to use him to send mail to Mom from school."  
  
"This is Gruffles," Laurie introduced her cat, who nodded proudly. "He's the first pet I've ever owned."  
  
"Corleone's our first pet. We have a family owl, and our older sister Alicia has her own," Sarah smiled.  
  
"Are either of you hungry? I'm starved," Scott complained. Sarah rolled her eyes and punched her brother in the arm.  
  
"You're always hungry, Scott. Lunch isn't for another hour, and we had breakfast right before we came," she admonished, as Scott groaned in agony.  
  
"We should've brought some snacks along!" Scott leaned his head against the window as if he was dying of hunger. Laurie could not stop the smile that came to her face and began digging in her knapsack. In the end, she'd pulled out several Chocolate Frogs, boxes of Bertie Bott's Every- Flavor Jelly Beans, and bags of Fizzing Whizbees. The excitement in Scott's and Sarah's eyes was unmistakable. They dug in.  
  
Over the delicious snacks, Laurie grilled Scott and Sarah about themselves and the school. The Kimball's were an old wizarding family, going back almost a millennium. Scott and Sarah had an older sister named Alicia, who had graduated from Salem two years prior. She was now teaching at Bali Hai Pacific, a wizarding school in the South Pacific Ocean. They also had a younger brother named Hunter, who would start at Salem in two years. This was their first year there. Their father worked for the Department of Magic in Washington D.C. and was only two promotions away from being eligible for Secretary of Magic. They were completely confident that he would get the job. He had, after all, been in Wave House.  
  
"Wave House?" Laurie questioned.  
  
"It's one of the four dorms at Salem. Wave, Wind, Quake and Flame. Wave's the best one.I hope I'm assigned there. Alicia was there, too," Sarah explained. Laurie wondered which dorm Derek was in, and was about to ask, when an astonishingly handsome boy stumbled into the compartment. He had long, deep black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail. His skin was a dark reddish-brown and his eyes glittered like a warm onyx. He, too, was already in his school robes and was completely breathless.  
  
"I can't believe I finally got away!" he gasped to Scott and Sarah. Scott cleared off a space on his bench for the boy.  
  
"Your sisters again?" he asked. The boy nodded, still out of breath, and Scott sighed sympathetically.  
  
"Sisters are such pains," he stated, receiving a sharp kick to the shin from Sarah in retaliation. "I totally sympathize with you, man."  
  
"They would not shut up!" the boy exclaimed, leaning back in the bench. "Them and their friends, going on and on about how 'adorable' I was and how great I'd be at Salem. I could've punched them all!" He suddenly noticed Laurie and straightened up, blushing slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm Erick deBaron. What's your name?"  
  
"L-Laurie. Laurie Lacewing," she stammered, hoping that the hand he shook wasn't too sweaty.  
  
"Bill Lacewing's daughter?" Erick asked, astonished. Laurie nodded. "I'm glad to meet you, but not just because of that. Any friend of Scott and Sarah's is a friend of mine." Laurie managed to keep from blushing as Scott and Sarah smiled at her.  
  
Erick, it turned out, was amazingly friendly. He was mostly Native American, with a small bit of French blood in his background ("hence the name 'deBaron'"). His family had been wizards in the Americas since the first humans set foot on the continent. Unlike white people, he explained, Native Americans were much more receptive to magic, though there were still very few who understood it. He was Iroquois and had too many sisters to name in one sitting, but he did mention that his father had been an Auror (a wizard whose duty was to seek out and imprison wizards gone bad) and his mother ran a daycare for young witches and wizards in Upstate New York. Around him, Laurie was able to talk far more freely about her own life and childhood. By the time the conductor came around announcing the New Hogsmeade stop in ten minutes, Laurie knew she'd made her first friends. As the train slowed to a stop, a flurry of butterflies danced in her stomach. Here she was, finally, on the doorstep of the Salem Witches' Institute! 


	3. A Night Without Stars

Chapter Three  
  
Dusk was beginning to set in over the train as it slowed down into New Hogsmeade Station. Squinting against the setting sun, Laurie thought she could make out the silhouette of an enormous castle that must be the Salem Witches' Institute, but she wasn't completely sure until Scott and Sarah practically fell over themselves, jumping at the window to get a glance at it. Erick rolled hid eyes at them. "You'd think they'd never seen it before," he chuckled good-naturedly, and Laurie was glad that she hadn't gotten too over-excited upon seeing the castle. With Gruffles cradled in her hands and a promise that her things would be safely placed in her dormitory, Laurie followed her new friends off the train to where about sixty students her age had gathered. A large black man was holding up a lantern and smiling amicably at them.  
  
"Hello, First Years!" he exclaimed in a delighted voice. "My name is Eli Rock, but you can just call me Eli. I'm the game warden at the Salem Witches' Institute. One of my duties is to escort First Years through New Hogsmeade and into the Banquet Hall in time to be sorted into their houses. Every year, we try to do it different, to keep things interesting. So, if you'll follow me, we'll get started!"  
  
Excitedly, the crowd of First Years followed Eli to where an enormous wagon stood, filled to overflowing with hay. In the front were horses at least the size of elephants, if not larger. They all greeted the students by bowing and tossing their manes, while Eli gave each student a hoist to the top of the hay pile. Once they were all settled and holding on tight, the horses started trotting merrily. The lights of New Hogsmeade soon came into view, as did the people. Everyone in the town had come out to the main street to see the First Years pass by. They all waved and cheered, throwing streamers and balloons into the air, until the entire September sky was awash with color. The wagon was going too fast for Laurie to properly read the names of the stores, but not too fast for her to miss the delight on the townspeople's faces at the sight of these new students. All too soon, the hayride was over and the new students were escorted into an enormous banquet hall, lit with candle, and decorated in red, green, yellow and blue. Four long tables stretched from a platform on one end, atop which there was also a long table. All of the other students watched with immense interest as the First Years entered and shuffled to the front of the hall. When the talking had quieted down a bit, a tiny woman with gray hair knotted into a bun under a pointed hat stepped down to where the First Years were. She stood barely a head taller than most of them.  
  
"Welcome to the Salem Witches' Institute!" she exclaimed, and the entire hall erupted into cheers. "I believe our headmistress has some announcements for both new and returning students? Headmistress Frankincense?"  
  
Laurie saw for the first time the woman who had sent her the letter of acceptance to Salem. She was tall and elegant with a long black braid reaching down her back. Though her hair and face shone with youth, her sapphire eyes conveyed wisdom far beyond what many of the other professors seemed to possess. She stood, conveying elegance and commanding respect. Laurie liked her immediately.  
  
"First of all, I would like to say welcome to all of the new students here at the Salem Witches' Institute," Headmistress Frankincense spoke in a voice that carried loudly and clearly throughout the entire hall, though she did not shout. "A warning to those of you who have not heard this before. We are situated very close to the Muggle town of Salem. Therefore, I would advise that anything largely dangerous or noticeable as magical be kept under wraps. We have a new Head Boy and Head Girl this year. They are Bartholomew O'Malley and Elisabeth LeStrange. Show them as much respect as you would show any of us. We also have a new teacher: Professor Cleo Starlite. She will be teaching Divination this year. And now, let the sorting begin!"  
  
There was a murmur of applause, especially at the table decked in blue. Laurie guessed that table to be the table used by Wave House. She looked appreciatively at the banners that hung over each table. Over Wave's table hung a banner of a dolphin, leaping free through the air. Next to it was a table decked in gold, whose banners depicted a proud eagle, and beside the golden table was a green table, with banners of a wolf. On the far end was a table all in red with a dragon on its banner. Laurie was so immersed in this that she almost forgot about the sorting, until the first student was called up to be sorted. The girl had long, dark hair and big brown eyes. She looked nervous as Professor Dragona waved a wand around her head, muttering an incantation. Almost immediately, the girl seemed to glow bright blue, and the Wave table erupted in applause. After a few more people were sorted into their respective houses, Professor Dragona called out, "Erick deBaron!" Immediately, Laurie snapped to attention, as did several other First Years. Erick walked up to where Professor Dragona stood, and she waved her wand and did the incantation. Moments later, the air around Erick glowed blue and Wave House erupted into tumultuous applause. Laurie knew then that she wanted nothing more than to be in Wave House.  
  
She was hardly paying attention; so desperate was her desire to get into Wave House, that it startled her when Sarah left her side to be sorted. She, too, ended up in Wave House, as did Scott immediately after. Another two or three people were sorted, and then it was Laurie's turn. She felt the hall hush as she stepped up to the platform; she expected it was thanks to her late reputation. Smiling shyly at Professor Dragona, she asked, "What do I do?"  
  
"Just stand there and let me do all the work," Professor Dragona answered, smiling and turning Laurie so that she faced the entire hall. One hand on Laurie's shoulder and the other using the wand, Professor Dragona murmured, "Tremor, gale, lava, sea: In which house shall this girl be?" Laurie once again felt her desperate desire to be in Wave House, and for a moment, all seemed silent. She closed her eyes, desperately wishing or praying that she would get sorted into Wave House. A sudden applause startled her to open her eyes, and when she did, she felt a tremor of delight. The applause was coming from the Wave House table. Grinning broadly, she walked down and took a seat next to Sarah.  
  
Laurie didn't pay much attention after that, only enough to know that Julia Serpentine was placed in Flame House and the last First Year to be sorted, a redhead named Jolene Willow, found her way into Wave House. With some dismay, Laurie noted that Derek was sitting at the Wind table, but he caught her eye and gave her a merry wink and thumbs up. She knew that he was happy for her. Then, Headmistress Frankincense stood again.  
  
"One last announcement and then we shall feast. I would like to remind you all of the point system, instituted by Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. While you are here, your house is your family. Your successes, triumphs and Quidditch wins will earn you points. Your failures and any misdemeanors will lose you points. Whichever house has the most points at the end of the year will win the house cup. And now," she paused, a twinkle in her eyes, "let the feast begin!"  
  
As the words left her mouth, plates and bowls of scrumptious food appeared on the tables. There was an enormous bowl of salad that only required you to speak the name of your favorite dressing, and then say, "stop!" in order to dress it. Pork roasts, whole chickens and a platter of barbecue wings made up the main course, with side dishes such as mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn on the cob and a roast vegetable mix. To drink, the students could choose from pumpkin juice, butterbeer or whatever else their heart desired. Sarah and Scott had full, frosty glasses of pumpkin juice, while Erick opted for a butterbeer. Laurie, unable to decide, asked for both and was delighted to see a mug of each appear in front of her. As she was about to take a sip of butterbeer, however, Sarah cried, "Look out!" Laurie leaned back just in time to see what appeared to be a ghost "surf" down the table.  
  
"Gnarly, dudes! Some real shredders today!" the ghost exclaimed, once he'd reached the end of the table. He was grinning wildly. "Hey, welcome to Salem, dudes and dudettes! I'm your house ghost, Lance!" Laurie could not help but be reminded of a cheesy eighties film she'd watched once, as Lance winked at all the girls, under his salt-ridden mop of what seemed to be blonde hair. She could see other ghosts appearing at the other tables, too. At the table right beside Wave, a terrified ghost skydived from the ceiling and crashed into someone's pudding. At the far end of the hall, a ghost who was apparently a pyromaniac was throwing ghost bombs into everyone's laps, which exploded into delicious candy corns. A Third Year at the Quake table screamed when a dirt bike came crashing down on her plate, followed by its rider. Laurie was enchanted.  
  
The night had only just begun, however. With a clap of Headmistress Frankincense' hands, the main courses were cleared away to make room for cakes, candies and ice creams of various flavors. The students dug in as their houses' respective professors began passing out term schedules. The house professor for Wave was a woman who looked Native American, to say the least. Her face was care-worn and her hair was long and white. Feathers were braided into it, and she looked at Erick with recognition as she handed him his term schedule. Next, she turned to Laurie, who was sitting across from Erick.  
  
"I'm Professor Rhea Tournaline. I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, hopefully as long as you're here!" she laughed merrily. "Other schools don't have much luck with keeping Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, but I've been here since before your father first came here, Laurie, and I intend to stay a good spell longer!" Laurie smiled at Professor Tournaline, who handed her a blue sheet of parchment-the schedule. Once Professor Tournaline had gone, Laurie, Sarah, Scott and Erick bent over the schedule, to see how they'd lucked out in classes.  
  
"Defense Against the Dark Arts at 9:30!" Sarah cried. "And with Flame! We're doomed!"  
  
"Don't worry, Sarah. Rhea's a good teacher. She's a member of the Iroquois Nation, and she's good friends with my grandmother. She won't let the Flames get out of control. My sister-Hannah-says she's a great teacher," Erick reassured Sarah, but Laurie was a bit confused.  
  
"What's so bad about having a class with Flame?" she asked no one in particular. Scott rolled his eyes.  
  
"Ever since this school was founded, there's been a fierce rivalry between Flame and Wave Houses. See, each of the houses represents something different. Flame represents total power and Wave represents total love. You can't have both. At least that's how my dad explained it," he answered. "You can bet that if anyone makes trouble for us this year, it'll be someone from Flame."  
  
"Well, that and the fact that water always cancels out fire. None of the other elements of the other houses cancel each other out," said the first girl sorted into Wave. "Air can't cancel out earth and earth can't cancel out flame. Air feeds and cancels out flame and water is sometimes in air. Water and earth combine on many occasions. None of the other houses cancel each other out."  
  
Laurie and her friends blinked at this new girl. She grinned toothily at them. "I'm Kristie Boone. From Connecticut. My dad's a Muggle and my mother's a witch.that's becoming the norm nowadays. What are your names?"  
  
They were all taken aback at Kristie's friendliness, but Laurie managed to speak up first. "I'm Laurie Lacewing, and I'm from Water Mill, New York," she introduced herself, hesitant to add any further details. That seemed to be enough for Kristie who excitedly began chatting with someone else, who had accidentally knocked over her third mug of butterbeer. Laurie and her friends looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh, then found themselves on the way to Wave House for the first time ever.  
  
The walk was a quick one, through glamorous corridors and past huge stained glass windows. In five short minutes, the excited first years, led by their prefect, Reagan Waters, arrived at an enormous portrait of a mermaid who looked suspiciously like a much younger Headmistress Frankincense. She waved her tail fins and smiled at Reagan. "What's the password?" she asked.  
  
"'Poseidon's trident,'" Reagan answered as if she knew it better than her own name. Momentarily, they were all inside the common room of Wave House. Various pets had found places to lounge on the furniture, all in different shades of blue. Gruffles grinned at Laurie from his place on a periwinkle armchair. He'd found a feline friend, the color of leaves in autumn, and had wrapped his tail possessively around hers. Laurie found this so amusing that she had to bite her tongue not to laugh while Reagan went over the rules.  
  
"This is the common room for Wave House. You can study here, play games, hang out or do whatever you want. First Year Boys' bedroom is up the left set of stairs. First Year Girls' bedroom is up the right set of stairs. Curfew for First Years will be eleven o'clock on weeknights and twelve-thirty on weekends. I am your house's prefect, which means that." Reagan was saying, when Laurie heard something that seemed to come from deep inside of her. A dark and sinister voice was whispering something, though she was not sure what. Whatever the voice was trying to whisper, it continued whispering, until Laurie could clearly understand what was being said.  
  
"Latem Disastrum!" the voice hissed. "Latem Disastrum! Latem Disastrum!" Then it stopped and Laurie, and the rest of the room, heard a horrific scream of pain and fear. Her heart started pounding in her chest as if she'd run a marathon. Reagan interrupted her speech for a moment, considering what had just happened, and was about to continue, when Professor Tournaline flew in through the portrait. She looked a bit frazzled and frightened.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt your speech, Reagan. I know how badly you wanted to give that speech, but," she paused, letting the giggles die down, "it is imperative that these students go to bed immediately. Once they are safely in bed, please come to the headmistress' office, and all will be explained there." She looked at the First Years, who had taken on a definite collective feeling of fear. "I'm sorry I can't tell you what this is about right now. Perhaps Headmistress Frankincense will explain it tomorrow. In the meantime, get to bed, and hurry!"  
  
The students didn't need to be asked twice. Collecting their various pets, they hurried up to their bedrooms. The girls' bedroom was enormous, holding seven canopied beds, dressed in royal blue. Everyone's trunk had been placed at the foot of her bed, with new school robes and pajamas laid out for them. Laurie and the other girls changed into their pajamas, talking in hushed tones about what they thought had happened.  
  
"Maybe the headmistress fell and threw out a hip or something," said a big black girl named Ella George. "Maybe that's what the scream was."  
  
"I don't think the headmistress can scream that loud," Laurie commented. "And anyway, I think it has something to do with that spell someone was saying."  
  
"What spell?" the blonde-haired Heather Morgan asked, blinking long lashes at Laurie.  
  
"That 'Latem Disastrum' thing," Laurie answered. "Didn't you guys hear it?"  
  
The girls all shook their heads no, and seemed to be lost in thought until Kristie spoke up. "That doesn't sound like a good spell. It sounds positively evil. Disastrum. It has something to do with separation from the stars. I wonder if someone was trying to separate the school from the stars. Maybe Professor Starlite. She seems weird like that," she stated, and then paused again. "But I don't know for sure."  
  
"Well, whatever it was, it was definitely evil," Ella commented, pulling on her silky blue pajama bottoms. "And I don't think we should be talking about it anymore."  
  
"What else is there to talk about?" Sarah asked. "The weather?"  
  
"Or how about that cute new boy with the long black hair? Does anyone know his name?" Jolene asked, trying in vain to pull her curly red hair back in a ponytail. Sarah looked annoyed.  
  
"Don't bother with him. He's just Erick," she muttered.  
  
" 'Just Erick?' What do you mean by that?" Jolene had a cute Southern drawl that made every word sound equally important.  
  
"Oh, nothing. Scott and I have just known him all our lives, that's all. He's not worth your trouble." Sarah pulled the clips out of her blonde hair, and let it swing in front of her face, pointlessly. "He's got too many sisters to want to be around girls who want to talk about relationships or anything like that. It's all his sisters talk about. It's horrible. You'd think that was the most important thing in the world."  
  
Jolene looked as if she was about to object to Sarah's statement, then thought better of it. The room was silent for a minute, then Ella spoke up again. "I think we should all get to bed. Professor Tournaline'll have our necks if she hears us up talking," she stated, and no one bothered to argue. Laurie finished changing into her pajamas and sat down on the edge of the bed to put on a headband, when she heard a squeaky holler come from Gruffles, who had just jumped to the windowsill.  
  
"Lookit!" he cried, pointing out the window. Laurie looked and gasped.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Guys, c'mere!" she exclaimed. The girls crowded around the window, and Gruffles snuggled into Laurie's arms to keep from being pushed out of the window. What they saw made all of the girls gasp. There were no stars in the sky. The moon glowed a dusky, dusty red, but it gave off little light. Everything was dark and frightening.  
  
"Disastrum!" Kristie murmured, and Laurie was about to comment, when all of a sudden, a wail of anguish and pain echoed from almost right below their window. The girls all jumped back in terror and flew to their respective beds, staring at the window. Gruffles buried his head in Laurie's arm, and all was silent for a moment. Sarah finally spoke up.  
  
"What on earth was that thing?" she whispered, but none of the other girls knew. Suddenly, a hush came over them, as they heard the voice of Professor Tournaline immediately outside their door. She was, evidently, talking to Reagan.  
  
"This hasn't happened for ages. Not since before I was here at Salem," Professor Tournaline was saying. "We lost eighteen that year, and almost lost a student."  
  
"What stopped it, Professor?" Reagan exclaimed.  
  
"We finally caught the person doing it. But I'm afraid it won't be as easy this time. Last time the killings happened far away from civilization, where only a few wizards or witches lived. But here at the school.it could take ages to go through every being that could cast the Disastrum spell here. We may lose all of them."  
  
"That would be terrible!"  
  
"Indeed. Well, it sounds like these girls are asleep. They missed it, then."  
  
"That's good, at least."  
  
"It is. Now go to bed, Reagan. I've got to go inform Headmistress Frankincense. We've lost a Pegasus." 


	4. The Pegasus Eggs

Chapter Four "The Pegasus Eggs"  
  
Laurie found it impossibly hard to sleep after hearing Professor Tournaline talking to Reagan about the Pegasus. Why would someone do such a thing? She lay awake until the sky turned pink with the dawn, staring at the ceiling as if it held answers, but to no avail. There was no apparent reason why someone had decided to murder a Pegasus the previous night. Laurie sighed as she watched the sun begin to rise over the Atlantic Ocean. The starless night was over, and it was the first day of classes.  
  
Apparently, Laurie was not the only one in Wave who hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night. It seemed that every single person in her house had bags under their eyes, as the First Years made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. The room soon filled with students from Wave and Flame houses, the students from Flame house laughing at the Wave students, who seemed to be falling asleep where they sat. Laurie caught sight of Julia whispering to a pale girl and pointing at Erick. The girls were giggling behind their hands, and for some reason, this made Laurie feel a bit sick to her stomach. Julia suddenly caught Laurie looking at her and smirked at her, a look that Laurie returned all-too-eagerly.  
  
Next to her, Sarah was doodling aimlessly on a piece of parchment, and jumped when Professor Tournaline came marching into the classroom, her long white hair flying behind her like a cape. She, too, looked exhausted, but managed to smile broadly at her class as she reached the front of the room. "Well, good morning," she greeted them, in as cheerful a voice as she could possibly muster. "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. This is the first day of classes, so we're not going to start anything complicated or tackle any beasts today. I will, however, introduce myself and explain a little bit what this class is about. My name is Rhea Tournaline, and I have been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts for the past thirty years here. I come from a long line of Native American witches and wizards that can be traced back almost to the time when people first appeared on this continent. Not that heritage matters in today's world," she gave Julia and her friend a sharp look, and they immediately stopped giggling. "In this class, you will learn to arm yourself against the dark arts. I will introduce you to dark beasts of all sorts, but at no point will you be in danger of any permanent damage." Laurie and Sarah glanced at each other sideways, wondering about Professor Tournaline's definition of "permanent." She continued. "Second semester, I hope to teach you a thing or two about defending yourself against unfriendly curses and hexes. And I daresay we will have a few dueling lessons as well." At this, a whisper of excitement went through the class. "Are there any questions?"  
  
Jolene raised her hand. "Are we gonna study vampires and werewolves in here?" she asked in her loud voice. The Flame students snickered.  
  
"Eventually," Professor Tournaline answered kindly, "but as they are very rare in the Americas, we won't be studying them until the end of this semester at least."  
  
There seemed to be no more questions, until Sarah hesitantly raised her hand. Laurie looked at her, wondering what she could possibly want to know. It apparently took Professor Tournaline by surprise too, as she called on Sarah.  
  
"I was wondering.I mean, I know this isn't a class about magical creatures or anything, but I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about Pegasus," she said softly. Immediately the room hushed and everyone's eyes were on Professor Tournaline, who gave a deep and heavy sigh, leaning back against her desk as if talking to a colleague and not a group of students. With a faraway look in her eyes, she began.  
  
"Pegasus are very rare and magical creatures. There aren't many places in the world that breed them, but our school does. Hopefully, you will get a chance to meet these amazing creatures. They are like horses with wings, but are much more swan-like in their other characteristics. They lay eggs rather than giving birth to live young and spend a great deal of time either swimming or flying. Naturally, they can walk on the ground like any other horse, but they're more at home in the air or in the water.  
  
Pegasus are also very powerful creatures. Though no one is quite sure what they can do on their own, it is fact that their feathers are one of the most magically potent things in the world-when the feathers are taken from a live Pegasus, that is. The feathers have healing powers, to almost as great an extent as phoenix tears. They also make the most powerful wands in the Western Hemisphere, wands that can only be handled by the most powerful witches and wizards."  
  
Laurie felt a bolt of shock run through her. There was a Pegasus feather in HER wand, but as she leaned to tell Sarah this, another Wave First Year, Brian Chen, asked another question.  
  
"So, if Pegasus feathers have such great power, then why aren't there more of them available for our use?" he asked in a nasal voice.  
  
"The Pegasus feather does something else very important. It is the Pegasus feather that holds the Pegasus' life force. One feather from a Pegasus' wing won't kill it, but once it loses all of its feathers, the Pegasus is certain to die. Now, in nature, this happens very slowly, and only when the Pegasus is very old. Pegasus keep their feathers for life, so when a feather is taken from a Pegasus, it's usually taken early on and doesn't affect the Pegasus' lifespan. There is, however, a spell, which will remove all of the Pegasus' feathers at once-the 'deplumagio' spell. It's a highly complicated spell, though, and can only be performed correctly when there is no starlight," Professor Tournaline's voice had gotten softer when she talked about the Pegasus' death. This had obviously been the spell used last night.  
  
"Why would someone want to do that?" Ella asked without bothering to raise her hand.  
  
"There is a potion that requires the entire plumage of thirteen Pegasus. This potion, once it touches the lips of the drinker, will cause all of the drinker's mortal enemies to die within twenty-four hours, unless the drinker dies first, which happens rather often, I'm afraid. If he survives, the drinker becomes immortal and all-powerful," Professor Tournaline explained. A weary note had come into her voice. "The last time someone came close to pulling it off was when I was in this school as a first year, fifty years ago."  
  
Class ended on a somber note and everyone filed quietly into the hall, heading for lunch. Someone was trying to make that potion, they had all realized, and if that person succeeded, it was highly likely that people would die. More than that, Laurie couldn't help but feel that her life was one of the lives that would be in danger if this potion were completed. So lost in her own thoughts she was, that she didn't even notice Julia as she brushed by her.  
  
"Watch it!" Julia snapped, pushing Laurie, who lost her footing and crashed to the marble floor painfully. Several Flame students who were watching started laughing at this, but Sarah and Scott stalked up to Julia.  
  
"What do you think you're doing? She didn't even do anything!" Sarah pointed out.  
  
"You're just trying to cause trouble!" Scott accused.  
  
Meanwhile, Erick had reached out a hand to help Laurie up. After having assessed that she was all right, he also turned to Julia with a glare of utmost disgust. Julia was still smirking at Laurie, seemingly happy that she was the center of attention, negative, as it may have been. Laurie, too, glared at Julia.  
  
"What was that for?" she snapped.  
  
"Just wanted an excuse to introduce you to my new friends.I see yours aren't all that great, so the invitation stands, if you ever want to join the gang. This is Alysia Riley and Vinny Carthage, both in Flame," Julia said in a singsong type of voice. The people she had introduced looked just as horrible as she. Alysia was the pale girl from Defense Against the Dark Arts. She had long, white-blonde hair and very pale blue eyes that looked almost like ice. Her skin was a porcelain color. Vinny was also pale, but his hair was black and greasy and slicked back from his face as if to make him look like a drowned rat. His skin was as pale as Alysia's and his eyes were glittering black like coal. Whereas Erick's black eyes held warmth, this boy's eyes were cold and uncaring.  
  
"You can take back that invitation, Julia. I'm all set where I am," Laurie answered, causing Scott, Sarah and Erick to look rather proud.  
  
"You'll change your mind soon enough. I can see it. You want to be a powerful witch, and they'll only bring you down! Stick with me and my friends.we'll get you there!" Julia said triumphantly. "Well, Erick could probably help you.could help all of us.but those Kimballs. They're no good."  
  
"What makes them so no-good?"  
  
"Their mother's a Squib! She can't do a single magic spell to save her life! She almost failed out of here.a disgrace to the wizarding world if I ever saw one. She might as well have been born Muggle.them too," Julia sneered at Scott and Sarah, who suddenly looked very hurt and embarrassed.  
  
"What does that matter? My mom's a Muggle.that doesn't make me any less of a person," Laurie growled, trying to defend her friends.  
  
"It does, if you don't know who are the right kind of friends. You stick with people like them and your Muggle side will be more prominent by the day! You'll end up blown up, just like your stupid father!" Julia cried, her words stinging Laurie like a slap across the face. Erick stepped between the two girls.  
  
"That's enough, Julia. Get out of here before someone drops a house on you, too," he told her, in a voice that was loud enough only for Julia and Laurie to hear. Laurie held back a laugh, while Julia stammered and backed away quickly, followed by Vinny and Alysia. Watching them go, Laurie shook her head.  
  
"I'll never understand what makes people like that. Are you two alright?" she asked Scott and Sarah. Sarah was wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.  
  
"Well.except for the fact that everyone knows about our mother now, yeah," she murmured, and Scott gave her a hug from the side.  
  
"We might as well just leave you two alone. No one'd want to be seen with the children of a Squib," Scott sighed, and they turned to leave. Laurie ran after them.  
  
"Wait! I don't care about that! My mom's a Muggle, you know that. I don't care if your mom's a Muggle or a Squib or the greatest witch that ever lived! You're my friends," she stated, grabbing both by the shoulders. They looked at her, seemingly unsure if they believed her. "It didn't matter to your dad. Why should it matter to me?" Laurie added.  
  
Erick came up next to her, grinning broadly. "What have I been telling you guys? No one cares. There isn't a witch or wizard around today who isn't half-blood or less. No one cares whose parents are what. We're friends." When he said that, Laurie nodded for emphasis and Sarah managed a little smile. They ran off to a quick lunch before Herbology.  
  
On the way to Herbology, Laurie stopped dead in her tracks when Derek called her name. She turned around to see him running at her from the History of Magic classroom, a class that Laurie would start the next year. He caught up to her and they started walking again.  
  
"Make it fast, Derek, I have Herbology in five minutes, and I need to be in the greenhouse by then," she said, passing a group of laughing Wind Fifth Years.  
  
"Meet me after your last class this afternoon and we'll practice flying some more. Quidditch tryouts are coming up, and you'll want to be in top form for that," he stated. "I'll meet you outside the banquet hall, alright?" Laurie nodded, then hurried to the greenhouse.  
  
Herbology, she realized, would prove to be interesting, as half of the class had to be hurried to the hospital wing when clumsy Professor Gromoor spilled undiluted bubotuber pus on them. The rest of the class, she stated, was dismissed for the day, and Laurie found it hard not to chuckle at having such a clumsy professor. Later that afternoon, at 3:30, she made her way to the dungeon for Potions, which turned out to be her favorite subject so far. Having been quite a chemist at her old school, Laurie was able to produce a perfect sleeping draught in half the time. She flushed with pleasure when Professor Cornelius applauded for her. Ross Logan, a redhead from Wave with a mischievous smile, pretended to wipe tears of pride from his eyes, which earned him a place as guinea pig for Laurie's sleeping draught. Sure enough, it was a perfect potion, and Ross passed out within seconds.  
  
"While there's some quiet," Professor Cornelius began, and the class chuckled quietly, "I just wanted to let you know that try-outs for the House Quidditch teams are a week from Wednesday. If you're any good at Quidditch, or even think you're any good at Quidditch, talk to your house's team captain about what positions are available. I do believe that Wave is looking for a Seeker." He grinned at Laurie, as if knowing that she would love to hold that very position.  
  
Ross woke up, and, where Laurie would have been confused and upset about having been knocked out with a sleeping draught, he only laughed good- naturedly and said that it wasn't the first time and would not be the last. The Wave Students left the dungeon noisily discussing Quidditch and who was going to try out for what.  
  
"I played point guard on my basketball team, back home," said Kyle Houston, a tall and skinny black boy. "Do you think that I'd be any good as Seeker?"  
  
"Nah," Heather answered honestly. "You look more like a Chaser to me. I heard we need one of those too."  
  
"Yeah, Seekers have to be small and fast, and, no offense, but you're a little tall for a Seeker," Kristie added. "Now, Laurie would make a great Seeker. Have you ever played Quidditch before, Laurie?"  
  
"No." Laurie shook her head.  
  
"Still, I'll bet you're gonna make Seeker if anyone is. Unless you're not going to try out." The way Kristie said it, not trying out sounded like a crime.  
  
"Of course I'm going to try out. Why wouldn't I?" Laurie asked, laughing a little. "Sounds like a great way to meet new people." And before she could add any more, she heard Derek calling her name. He hurried up to the group of First Years, looking like he thought maybe he shouldn't be associating with them as a Second Year. Laurie suppressed a giggle.  
  
"You ready to go practice? There's a lot of airspace over by Dragon Tail Lake," he stated, seeming ready to hurry away from the First Years.  
  
"Yeah, sure," Laurie answered, laughing a little. "I just need to go get my broom." She turned to Sarah, Scott and Erick. "You guys have brooms? Wanna come fly with us?"  
  
"Scott and I've got Comet 260s and Erick has a Nimbus 2000, I think," Sarah answered. "It's been so long since we were allowed to fly high.Muggle Protection Laws and all that."  
  
"Let's go for it!" Erick exclaimed. "And yes, it is a Nimbus 2000. Best broom out there, I'd say. Except for the Nimbus 2001. What model do you have, Laurie?"  
  
Laurie bit back a smile and pretended she hadn't heard Erick's question.  
  
Ten minutes later, after her friends had gawked over her Nimbus 2001, Laurie led them to the hallway just outside the banquet hall, where Derek stood, holding his own Comet 260. Laughing and talking about the advantages of Laurie's broom over all the others, the friends headed outside towards Dragon Tail Lake.  
  
Dragon Tail Lake was a large lake, for a lake in Massachusetts. It was about three quarters the size of the largest body of water within the state, Quabbin Reservoir, but was not on any Muggle maps. It hooked and curled around like an enormous dragon's tail, with little spikes sticking out, making for an amazing lake to fly around and explore. Willow trees drooped on either side of it, some of which would actually talk to a person who walked up to them. All in all, it was a beautiful lake, but, as they discovered upon their arrival there, it was also out-of-bounds for anyone who wanted to fly his broomstick.  
  
"Why on earth would they do that?" Derek demanded to no one in particular. The sign was posted just below the crest of the hill that led to Dragon Tail Lake, so none of them could see the lake itself, just the sign.  
  
"Well, let's walk over there and find out," Scott suggested, so they did. The hill did not look steep at first glance, but at first climb, one discovered that it was steep. Very steep. Yet once they reached the top, the sign made perfect sense.  
  
Beautiful creatures were flying, walking and swimming around the lake. Squinting her eyes, Laurie gave a cry of delight. "They're Pegasus!"  
  
That they were. Swooping around in the air with the grace of swans, the Pegasus were quite possibly the most beautiful creatures any of the friends had ever seen. They came in every color imaginable for a horse, from dapple gray to stark white. Springing from their shoulders were massive wings that matched their body color and folded neatly when the Pegasus landed in the lake for a swim. The females had dainty legs that would almost belong to a doe, while the males had strong legs that looked like those of Clydesdale horses. Laurie even thought she caught site of a few baby Pegasus, walking on the shore with their long, thin legs or trying out their wings in one of the coves.  
  
"They're beautiful!" Sarah gasped, and the others could only nod in agreement. Suddenly a large hand clamped down on Laurie's shoulder, almost crushing her with the weight.  
  
"What are you kids doing here with brooms?" a voice boomed, and Derek turned around, rolling his eyes.  
  
"We didn't know the lake was closed for flying, Eli. Honest. Not until we saw the signs. And then we wondered why," he answered. The big black man's face broke into a huge grin when Derek explained that.  
  
"They're amazing, aren't they?" he asked, starting to walk towards a large rock at the lake's shore and motioning for them to follow him. Derek, at this point, excused himself to return his borrowed broom, and stated that he would not be back. Once those who remained were all seated on the rock, Eli pointed out his favorite Pegasus, the white ones whose hooves seemed made of pure gold.  
  
"They're my favorite creatures to take care of here. The trolls that guard the entrance are pretty nasty and the animals that come out of the forest are as frightening as anything you'd see in Europe. Once, there was a werewolf, but we got rid of him. Gave him the antidote and then sent him on his way. After his memory'd been erased, of course," Eli told them, sighing deeply. He talked very slowly, with a deep voice, and seemed, to Laurie, like an old and beloved Basset Hound.  
  
"But the Pegasus are your favorite?" she asked.  
  
"Yep," he answered, and then gave another sigh, this one not as contented as the previous one. "The one that died last night was a mother. She had a nest with two eggs."  
  
"Eggs?" Erick asked, and Sarah nodded.  
  
"Pegasus don't give birth to live young. They lay eggs like birds, but they nurse like mammals," she explained, sheepishly. "Muggle biology classes fascinated me."  
  
"You're right, though," Eli told her. "The mother's gone, now, though, so I'm hatching the eggs in my hut. They look to be a boy and a girl, but it won't be sure until they've hatched."  
  
"Wow, real Pegasus eggs. They're supposed to be beautiful, like moonstones or something," Scott commented.  
  
"They are. Reflecting so many colors that sometimes I don't know what to do with them," Eli laughed loudly. "Would you be interested in seeing them sometime?"  
  
"Serious?" Laurie and Scott asked at the same time, while Erick and Sarah looked amazed. Eli nodded, looking pleased that they'd shown such interest.  
  
"I don't get many visitors. It's so far out of the castle, so not many people are willing to go down there and visit little ol' me," he confessed, seeming abashed. "But I'd be happy to make you some hot chocolate and cookies, if you wanted to come down and visit on Saturday."  
  
"That would be wonderful!" Sarah declared.  
  
"We'll come around 2:30, if that's alright with you," Scott added.  
  
"That's perfect! That's when I take the eggs out of the incubator to turn them anyway. I'll make sure to have some cookies baked and a pot of hot chocolate all ready to drink." Eli seemed more than delighted to be having visitors, and Laurie was glad that she was one of them. She decided right then and there, as they left to put their brooms away and eat dinner, that Eli was one of her favorite people at the Institute.  
  
The next day dawned even sunnier than the last, to Laurie's delight. She decided that once classes were over, she would go do some flying on the Quidditch field. The first class that day was Transfiguration with Jack Friday, a man right out of a 1950s detective film. He began the class by turning a violin into a humming bird before their eyes, which elicited much applause from the students. Before the class had ended, they were turning teacups into tiaras with ease.  
  
Next was Divination, up in the castle's tower. Cleo Starlite, the Divination professor, looked like Miss Cleo from the television commercials (something which Laurie had trouble explaining to Sarah when asked) and sounded like her as well. In a low and misty voice, she began walking around, predicting all sorts of things for her students, including Julia Serpentine's death. At that point, Laurie was having a very hard time not laughing, as were many other people in the class. Leaving the room at around 1:30, Laurie made a comment to Julia that she'd better watch out, lest she find death lurking around the corner, to which Julia had no good response.  
  
Laurie was positively itching to get on her broomstick throughout the day, and the thought of sitting through Charms class before doing so did not appeal to her in the least. She expressed her sentiments to Sarah on the way down to the classroom.  
  
"It's not that I have anything against Charms. I just would much rather be flying," she commented. Sarah wasn't looking at her, but rather at something tagged to the door of the Charms classroom.  
  
"Looks like you don't have to wait," she was saying, and Laurie leaned forward to read the notice.  
  
"Charms classes today have been cancelled, as Professor Dragona is in New York City on urgent business. Enjoy the sunshine!" Laurie read aloud, and several people cheered. "Well, that settles it. I'm off to practice on the Quidditch field. I'll see you guys later!" She waved to Sarah, Scott and Erick, who were still reading the note and smiling about it. Laurie ran up to the girls' bedroom, deposited her books on her bed, and grabbed her broom. In five minutes flat, she was down on the Quidditch field. It was more amazing than she could have ever imagined. The three goals at either end of the field gleamed in the sunlight and the field itself was immaculate. Taking a deep breath, Laurie mounted her broom and pushed off the ground, enjoying fully the sensation of soaring higher and higher until the goals were little more than flecks on the field. She accelerated, flying from one end of the field to the other in seconds, then took a few nosedives, brushing the grass with her fingertips. Breathlessly, she did a few loop-de-loops above the goalposts, when she heard someone shouting below.  
  
"Hey! You up there!" the boy was calling. He looked to be about fifteen, with curly auburn hair and gray eyes. "Come here!"  
  
Laurie decelerated and touched her toes to the ground, right near where the boy was standing. He had a smile on his face.  
  
"How long have you been flying?" he asked, smiling as if he knew the answer.  
  
"Only, like, two or three weeks. I just got this broom a couple weeks ago at West Watchmaker Way," she answered, and the boy's eyes nearly fell out of his head.  
  
"You look like you've been flying since before you could walk," he told her, sticking out his hand. "I'm Corey Oxford. What house are you in?"  
  
"Wave. I'm a First Year," Laurie answered.  
  
"Great! Me too. I'm captain of the House Quidditch team, and just between you and me, I think you'd make an excellent Seeker for our team. Can I expect to see you at try-outs next Wednesday.ah.I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," he paused.  
  
"Laurie. Laurie Lacewing."  
  
"Oh, so you're Laurie Lacewing. Can I expect to see you at try-outs next Wednesday, Laurie Lacewing?" Corey was smiling a crooked smile at her, and Laurie nodded.  
  
"My friends are making it seem like a crime not to try out, so of course I'll be there!" she answered, matching Corey's smile.  
  
"Great!" he answered, then looked over her shoulder. "Uh-oh. Looks like Flame's heading over here to practice. I'll see you a week from tomorrow!"  
  
Laurie waved to Corey as he ran off towards the banquet hall, then headed up to the bedroom, where Sarah was sitting, having a deep conversation with Gruffles about his newfound kitty friend, a ginger cat named Grindylow.  
  
"But don't you realize that a Grindylow is a water demon?" Sarah was asking him.  
  
"Sure, but this Grindylow's a cat!" Gruffles told her matter-of- factly, and Laurie fought to keep a straight face.  
  
The rest of the week passed with little incident. Laurie and her friends were too much looking forward to seeing Eli's Pegasus eggs on Saturday to pay much attention to Julia's snide remarks in the hallways or care that Professor Gromoor neglected to let the Flame Students' Herbology class know that they should wear earmuffs when handling baby Mandrakes, so half of them wound up in the hospital wing unconscious. By the time Saturday rolled around, the four of them were so excited to see the Pegasus eggs that they found themselves at Eli's hut an hour early. They pounded on his door excitedly, and a dog's bark sounded within. Eli opened the door slowly, looking out the window beforehand.  
  
"You're early!" he exclaimed, holding the enormous dog back and letting them in. "I haven't even started the hot chocolate yet."  
  
"That's alright," Erick answered. "We don't mind."  
  
Eli's enormous grin returned and he showed them lumpy couches and chairs in which they could sit. "I finished the cookies last night, so here you go," he passed around a plate of delicious-looking molasses cookies, which were soon gone. Over the cookies, he told them of his past. Eli had been the first black student at Salem in the 1950s. He was Muggle-born, but surprised a lot of white people with his amazing powers. They'd tried to lynch him and his family once, but had not succeeded.  
  
"That's horrible, Eli!" Laurie cried, and Eli nodded.  
  
"Well, that's the way things were back then. Whites hated blacks and vice versa. This was before Martin Luther King and all that. People in our world aren't as much like that as Muggles.we have more important things to worry about than skin color. Still, a lot of Muggle-borns were starting to come to school here, so they weren't sure how they'd react to blacks being here as well as whites," he explained.  
  
"So how did they react?" Erick asked.  
  
"Better than expected. I made some real friends here, for the first time ever. White friends. I knew then that I had to come back here someday, and I'm glad I did. Let me tell you kids, Nancy Frankincense is the best headmistress this school's ever had. In fact, I." Eli broke off as something dinged behind him. "That'll be the eggs. Let me take them out for you, hang on."  
  
He stood and walked to somewhere in the back of the hut, returning moments later with two beautiful eggs, the size of baby cradles. They were iridescent, like enormous opals or moonstones, showing off beautiful colors and trembling. A soft humming had filled the air inside the hut.  
  
"What's that noise?" Sarah breathed, her eyes still on the beautiful Pegasus eggs.  
  
"That's the eggs. They sing when they're taken out of the heat," Eli explained. "These ones were laid late, so they won't be ready to hatch until about December. Probably right around Christmas break."  
  
"Well that's good then. At least you have time to get ready for the babies not having a mother," Scott piped up.  
  
"I suppose. But it'll still be hard on me. I don't have time to take care of two infant Pegasus and all the other animals around here. But they need someone to look after them until they're big enough to look after themselves. It's a lot of work," Eli looked a bit upset. "If I don't take good enough care of them, they'll die."  
  
"I'll help you, then," Laurie promised. Eli looked at her skeptically. "Seriously! I used to help my grandparents with the horses on their farm over the summer, and I'm sure these can't be much different. I've got lots of free time, Eli.we all do." Scott, Sarah and Erick took this as a hint that they should volunteer as well, which they did, nodding in agreement to Laurie's statement.  
  
"We'll help you, Eli. We promise," Scott said, and Eli's eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Well, I.that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me since I started working here! Thank you!" He gave all four of them an enormous bear hug, then picked up the eggs and carried them back to the incubator in the back of the room. "Thanks for visiting me, but you'd probably better get back to the castle. Have a great week this week!" They waved good-bye to Eli and started back up to Wave House.  
  
"Laurie, what are you thinking? We're not going to have time to help him with those Pegasus! We've still got classes, and if you make Seeker." Sarah was saying.  
  
"We'll make time. Come on, let's go to dinner," Laurie stated firmly. Discussion ended. 


	5. Cloud Nine

Chapter Five: Cloud Nine  
  
After seeing the Pegasus eggs, Laurie's thoughts were constantly bent on Quidditch try-outs on the quickly approaching Wednesday. Every free minute of her time was spent on the Nimbus 2001, flying around the grounds and carefully avoiding Dragon Tail Lake. Several times, Sarah joined her, weaving in and out of Laurie's flight path to simulate a real Quidditch match, while Scott threw golf balls and tennis balls for Laurie to catch. Erick just watched with a constantly vigilant eye, telling Laurie what needed improving and what would work for her. He had decided that he was not going to try out, as the team already had a superb Keeper and that was his best position.  
  
Classes seemed unimportant in the time leading up to try-outs, and Laurie could barely pay attention. In Defense Against the Dark Arts on Monday, Professor Tournaline brought in a hinkypunk, a little creature with a lantern attached to its head that led unsuspecting victims into bogs until they could not get out. Each of the students had a grand time doing a simple charm that made the hinkypunk disappear with a loud bang. Later on that same day, in Potions, Laurie successfully made a shrinking potion that brought Kristie's cat, Grindylow, down to the size of a quarter. Gruffles, who happened to be there for that lesson, was not too pleased with this turn of events, for he could now hold his "girlfriend" in one paw. Kristie was neither amused by Gruffles' response nor pleased that her cat had been the guinea pig for this experiment, though Professor Cornelius assured them both that Grindylow would return to her normal size in a few hours.  
  
The next day came the first Charms class. Professor Dragona gave them an opening lecture about how important Charms was and then started them on learning some basic charms. After mastering an unlocking charm and setting the room aglow with the light charm, Laurie sat back and watched Sarah try to cause a feather to levitate.  
  
"I don't think I can stand another day of classes between now and Quidditch try-outs," Laurie complained, watching Sarah's feather levitate a few inches, then float gracefully back down to the desk.  
  
"Are you nervous?" Sarah asked, twirling her wand around in her hand for a brief moment before turning it back on the feather. "Wingardium Leviosa!"  
  
"I guess. I don't really feel much of anything about it. I kinda want it to be over with, so I can concentrate on other things again," Laurie replied, watching the feather soar higher this time, to the delight of Professor Dragona.  
  
"Bravo, Miss Kimball! Ten points to Wave for a successful levitation charm!" she cried, bringing applause from the other Wave Students. Sarah blushed with pleasure and embarrassment, while Scott made a face at her and tried to levitate his own feather. This resulted in an explosion, which singed off his and Erick's eyebrows. Sarah giggled at this, and Scott glared at her fiercely.  
  
"Scott's a little competitive," Sarah explained as they left the classroom, Scott in a definite huff. "He's better at me in athletic things, though, so I don't know why this is such big deal to him."  
  
"Maybe because you made him look bad," Erick suggested, and Sarah raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't know. That's always what makes me upset when one of my sisters one-ups me."  
  
"Well, he needn't be. I mean, it's just us," Sarah told Erick flippantly. "I don't know why he'd want to look good for us."  
  
"Maybe it wasn't for us," Laurie suggested, but Sarah was through discussing the topic.  
  
The next day in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Tournaline introduced the class to a boggart, a creature that would take the form of whatever a person feared most. While Sarah dealt with a giant snake, Scott a vampire and Erick his older sister, Laurie was surprised to see the room go completely empty when it came her turn to face the boggart. It seemed that everyone had disappeared. She began to panic, when she heard Professor Tournaline's voice call, as if from miles away, "Ridikulus!" Immediately the room was full of students again. Julia and her goons were doubled up, laughing at Laurie.  
  
"What happened, Laurie? The boggart just disappeared and you started to panic. Are you alright?" Professor Tournaline asked. Laurie was still shaking.  
  
"I don't know. The room went all empty; it was like you'd all left," she answered breathlessly.  
  
"Ah. So your biggest fear, then, is being alone," Professor Tournaline stated, and suddenly, Laurie's experience with the boggart made perfect sense.  
  
"I half-expected it to turn into a spider or something," Laurie commented sheepishly to her friends as they left the classroom. Sarah smiled in sympathy.  
  
"At least it's something abstract that you're afraid of," she commented, when Julia brushed by them, knocking the books out of Sarah's arms. Right behind her were Vinny and Alysia, chuckling behind their hands.  
  
"Oh, sorry, Sarah. Didn't see you there," Julia sneered. "By the way, Laurie, stunning performance today: looking around all wide-eyed and panicky. Why, if I'd ever done something that embarrassing, I'd go into hiding for the rest of eternity!"  
  
"Hey, at least she wasn't afraid of a little mouse," Scott muttered under his breath, and Laurie snickered. Julia, unfortunately, had missed the comment and simply sashayed away with Vinny and Alysia in tow.  
  
"Seriously, Laurie, don't let Julia get to you. She's just jealous," Erick stated as they walked reluctantly to the greenhouses for Herbology.  
  
"Of me? Why?" Laurie smirked, but Erick didn't answer as one of the greenhouses randomly exploded at that moment.  
  
"Well, I guess that means no Herbology," Scott commented, and they turned around to go back to their dorm. Sarah, Scott and Erick were planning on playing Exploding Snap in the common room, but Laurie felt the need to practice some more. She retrieved her broom from the girls' bedroom and hurried down to the Quidditch field. Apparently, she wasn't the only person who wanted to practice before try-outs. The sky was full of people playing catch with Quaffles or trying to catch tennis balls. Laurie wasn't sure where she could find space to practice, when she spotted Corey running up to her.  
  
"Hi, Laurie. Kinda busy out here, isn't it?" he commented, and Laurie nodded, not sure how else to respond. "Well, don't worry about it. They may have closed Dragon Tail Lake for practicing, but you can still use the grazing land over there. There are a few people over there already, but not enough to really disturb your practice."  
  
"Oh. Okay," Laurie replied, and followed Corey's directions to the grazing land. A few odd-looking animals looked at her with annoyance, and above her were a couple people playing catch and one person swinging his bat at Bludgers. Laurie decided this was more than enough space to practice and soared skyward on her broom. She practiced diving, feinting and a few other spectacular moves before she heard Sarah and Erick calling her name.  
  
"You know," Sarah commented as Laurie touched down, "you might want to pay a bit more attention to the time, so you don't have to bring your broom to Potions."  
  
"It's that late already?" Laurie cried, and the three of them ran off to class. Scott was already there, saving them seats near the front and, though Professor Cornelius gave them a disapproving look, he did not take off any points. Halfway through class, a voice announced that it was time for Quidditch try-outs and that all students trying out should go to the Quidditch field immediately. Laurie got up, and noticed that Kyle Houston and two boys from Quake were also on their way out the door. Kyle was nervously holding his own Nimbus 2000 and smiled at Laurie as they walked to the Quidditch field.  
  
"So, are you going out for Seeker, Laurie?" he asked, and she nodded, not trusting her voice. "That's cool. I'm gonna try for Chaser, but I don't know if I'll make it. I heard that Wave's got some really good people going up for that position, too."  
  
"Well, my mom would always tell me that if something was meant to be, there was nothing that could happen to change that," Laurie told him, unaware that she'd even chosen to speak. Kyle smiled his thanks to her, and before she realized it, they'd reached the Quidditch field. The rules for try-outs were explained rather simply. The hopefuls would go by house, starting with Flame and ending with Wave. The order of player try-outs would be Beaters, Keepers, Chasers and Seekers. Laurie sighed loudly. This meant that she would be the last to try out, being the youngest person going out for Seeker for Wave House. A Fifth Year boy and Third Year girl were also hoping for that position, so she held little hope of becoming the new Seeker. The hopefuls were instructed to wait in a tent until their name was called, and all the Wave students congregated together in a nervous huddle.  
  
"My older brother played Keeper when he was here," said a Second Year girl going out for Chaser. "He said that try-outs are really rough."  
  
"Well, he made it, didn't he?" Kyle asked, and the girl nodded.  
  
"He was in the hospital wing for a week afterwards, though," she added.  
  
Meanwhile, Graciela Martini, a Sixth Year from Wind, was calling the try-outs like a real Quidditch game. Though the calls weren't loud enough to be constantly heard by those waiting in the tent, Laurie would occasionally catch her saying something like, "ooh, that had to hurt!" or "good thing the nurse is on duty today!" She began to feel very nervous.  
  
Finally it was time for Wave House try-outs. Laurie watched with little emotion as several older students went to try out to be Chasers, and wished Kyle good luck when it was his turn. Then, it was time for the Seeker try-outs. The Fifth Year boy went out with a grim and determined look on his face, then the Third Year girl. Finally, it was Laurie's turn. She walked out onto the field, feeling very small indeed. Sitting halfway between the two sets of goals were the judges on three tall chairs. One was Professor Tournaline, the professor for Wave House. One was Corey Oxford, the captain for the Wave House Quidditch team. The last was Professor Frankincense, who was smiling politely down at Laurie.  
  
"Name?" she called, her voice echoing through the empty stands.  
  
"L-Laurie Lacewing," Laurie stammered.  
  
"Year?"  
  
"First."  
  
"And you're trying out for Seeker?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Professor Frankincense bobbed her head, and looked at Corey. "Okay, Laurie. Here's how your try-out is going to go. Ben down there is going to throw tennis balls and Remembralls for you to catch; you will receive marks based on how many of these you catch. At some point, which will not be disclosed to you, the Snitch will be released, and you will receive marks based on how quickly you catch it. The results will be posted on Friday, between second and third periods," he explained. "Any questions?"  
  
Laurie shook her head no, and Professor Tournaline spoke up. "When I blow the whistle, you are to push off from the ground and show us a few moves: a dive, an acceleration and a feint. You will receive points on how close you are to the ground when you pull out of the dive, how quickly you go from one set of goals to the other and how convincing your feint is. Ready?" Laurie nodded, and the whistle blew. She pushed off from the ground, blocking out everything but the task at hand. As soon as she'd reached a good height, she turned and dove, brushing the ground with her fingers as she pulled up only millimeters from a crash. She then flew to one set of goalposts and relished the feeling of speed that ended all too soon when she reached the other set. She hoped that her feint was convincing enough, considering that there were no balls on the field. Then came the hard part.  
  
She heard someone say something about throwing the first ball, and almost immediately, a clear ball with white smoke inside was flying towards her. She caught it with ease, and the games began. Laurie put every ounce of effort she could muster into catching the balls thrown at her, and managed to catch all but two, before she heard a whirring sound near her right ear. Not thinking, she reached up and grabbed whatever was making the whirring sound, and to her surprise, realized that she'd caught the Snitch without even thinking about it. Applause was coming from the judge's chairs and Graciela Martini was saying something about how Laurie had caught the Snitch fastest. She blinked at the little winged golden ball in her hand in shock. She'd really caught the Snitch. She felt weird about it, though, like there hadn't been enough of a chase. Slowly returning to the ground, she handed the Snitch back to Ben, a tall and skinny Sixth Year. He was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"Great reflexes, Laurie. I released the Snitch about ten seconds before you caught it. Did you know that I'd released it?" he asked.  
  
"No! I swear . I thought it was a bug or something," Laurie cried, and Ben laughed.  
  
"Don't worry, no one's accusing you of anything. But you were really impressive out there. I hope you get it," he stated, walking away. Laurie stared after him, silently agreeing with his hope.  
  
Thursday and Friday classes were unbearable for Laurie. Professor Starlite announced that Laurie had a worried aura, and, though a few people were quite impressed with this, Laurie knew it must be obvious by her fidgeting and shuffling of her feet. Friday was even worse. Laurie was so nervous that she almost slept through Defense Against the Dark Arts, and arrived just in time for Professor Tournaline to introduce the poltergeist to the class. The shimmering, glowing ghost-like creature flew around to all of the students in the class, laughing at them and making fun of whatever their worst fault was. Laurie was glad that the poltergeist was not solid, or she might have hurt herself punching him. As it was, she simply felt an extremely cold sensation as her hand went through his head. Later, in Herbology, Laurie barely noticed the plant wrapping itself around her arms, and only paid it any heed when Professor Gromoor had to whip out her wand and yell "Lumos solem!" at the plant to make it stop trying to strangle Laurie.  
  
"Devil's Snare," she sighed, checking Laurie for any injury. "Are you alright, dear?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Laurie growled, jerking her arm away from Professor Gromoor's grasp. Sarah patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, and Kyle gave her a sympathetic smile from across the room. Finally, the class was over, and Laurie raced to the Wave Common Room to see the list of the new Wave Quidditch team. Kyle was right on her heels, but apparently, they hadn't been fast enough, for when they reached the Common Room; older students already surrounded the list. Kyle, who was a head taller than most of them anyways, pushed his way to the front and looked at the list. Moments later, he emerged from the crowd, grinning wildly at Laurie.  
  
"We made it!" he shouted. "And not just onto the reserve team! We're both on the House Team, Laurie! That Fourth Year girl who tried out for Chaser, too."  
  
"No way!" Laurie screeched, and pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Sure enough, there was her name in gold lettering, next to the word "Seeker." She bit back a scream of joy and ran back through the crowd. Sarah, Scott and Erick had just reached the Common Room. She jumped at them and hugged them excitedly.  
  
"I'm Seeker!" she cried as they hugged her back, jumping up and down happily. "I made it!" They started congratulating her at the top of their lungs, when a sudden quiet voice interrupted them.  
  
"Congratulations, Laurie," the voice said, and Laurie whirled around to see someone she'd never heard talk before. The girl was dark and beautiful with black hair and black eyes. Laurie knew from attendance in her classes that her name was Selena Raven, but she didn't know anything more about this girl. The first night there, Selena had crawled into bed before all of the other girls even reached the bedroom, and had repeated this ritual every night since. Her voice was soft and accented. Laurie looked at her, in confusion.  
  
"Ah . thanks, Selena," she replied, but Selena had already withdrawn back into the crowd of excited people. Laurie shrugged it off and went back to celebrating with her friends. In too little time, however, it was time for Potions. Professor Cornelius was grinning when they arrived.  
  
"Before we start with class today, I would like to congratulate Miss Lacewing, Mr. Houston, and Mr. O'Toole for their success in Quidditch try- outs. This shall be an exciting year for Quidditch! Now, on to our lesson for the day. I promise, this shall be short and sweet as I have an important announcement to make before class ends," Professor Cornelius stated, and began lecturing. True to his word, he finished half an hour before class was scheduled to end.  
  
"Now, you're probably wondering what on earth I could want to announce that would be so important as to get in the way of a Potions lesson," he stated with a chuckle. "Well, here at Salem, we have an annual tradition. Every year on Halloween, we hold what is called the Danse Macabre. This is the equivalent to a Muggle homecoming dance. At this dance, the Quidditch teams will be officially presented to the school. I believe this gives you a good month and a half to prepare."  
  
The room was suddenly abuzz with conversation about the dance. Scott and Erick seemed relatively unimpressed by it and began a game of Exploding Snap under their desk. Sarah, on the other hand, turned to Laurie with an excited expression on her face. "We should try to get dates, Laurie! Oh, it'll be so much fun! Alicia was talking about these balls. She said there's one for Christmas and in the spring too. But the spring one's only for upperclassmen. So do you want to try and get dates?" Sarah was almost talking too fast for Laurie to understand her.  
  
"Dates? Whom on earth would we ask?" she asked, knowing full well that she wanted to ask a certain Erick deBaron to the dance. Sarah shrugged.  
  
"Does it matter? As long as we have fun, that's what counts."  
  
"I guess so," Laurie consented. She made up her mind to make Erick ask her to the dance by any means possible, and made plans to put on make up before dinner that night. Unfortunately, there was a meeting for the House Teams right after Potions that ended up lasting until dinner. Laurie and Kyle ran as fast as they could from the Common Room to the banquet hall afterwards to assure they could sit with their friends. Sure enough, Erick had saved the seat next to him for Laurie, while Kyle managed to find a seat between Brandon Lyons and Ross Logan. Laurie dug into her meal of spaghetti and meatballs, and was about to take a bite, when Mary Beth McNabb, another First Year from Quake, appeared behind her and Erick. She was giggling furiously.  
  
"Hi, Erick! How are you?" she squealed, sounding much like a little pig. Her eyelids were fluttering like they might make her fly if she fluttered hard enough.  
  
"I'm . ah . doing alright. How are you, Mary Beth?" Erick looked around Mary Beth to where she usually sat at the Quake table. On either side of Mary Beth's seat were two girls who looked like Erick's sisters. They waved at him, sweetly.  
  
"Oh! I'm . great!" Mary Beth giggled again, as if she hadn't been expecting that question. "I was wondering if you'd want to go to the dance with me?"  
  
Erick sighed and shook his head no. "Sorry, Mary Beth, but you're not my type," he told her, looking unimpressed by her on any level. Mary Beth backed away, looking very hurt, and Erick's sisters glared at him disapprovingly. He was about to start a conversation with Laurie, when she felt herself being shoved over and heard a familiar voice.  
  
"Well, hello, Erick! I couldn't help but hear that Mary Beth isn't your type and you're not going with her to the dance. Not that I'm surprised. She is Muggle-born, after all," Julia proclaimed in a haughty voice. Jolene and Kyle, who were also Muggle-born, sent glares in Julia's direction.  
  
"Not that that had anything to do with it," Erick answered; looking very much like he wished Julia would just go away.  
  
"Oh! Well, in any case, I know that you come from a long line of wizards, as do I, and so I figured you would be the perfect date for me," Julia stated as if she was the most logical person in the world. Laurie managed to catch a glimpse of Julia's face at that moment, and it was caked in more makeup than Laurie had ever seen on a person at a time.  
  
"Actually, I think you'd probably be someone else's perfect date," Erick announced. "Bye, Julia."  
  
"But . but I ." Julia seemed at a loss for words.  
  
"Bye, Julia," Erick repeated, and she stood up and left, stamping her feet as she went. He chuckled at her retreating figure. "I've been getting that ever since the ball was announced. They all try too hard."  
  
Laurie forced a smile at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Well, they're not really being themselves. I mean, when she's not trying to ask someone to a dance, Mary Beth's pretty cool. Likes to talk about her family a lot. But then she decides to ask me to a dance, and boom! She's a complete and total ditz." Erick shook his head sadly. "And then there's Julia. Not that she changed much. She always acts that way, but I've never seen her with so much makeup on. Laurie, I'm so glad you're not like them. You're always real."  
  
Laurie grinned, glad that Erick didn't know she'd been planning something very similar to Julia and Mary Beth's strategies earlier that day. They finished their meal in peace, and returned to Wave House, only to discover that Scott and Sarah had spent the entirety of dinner playing a highly competitive game of Exploding Snap in the Common Room. They laughed aloud when Erick told them about Mary Beth and Julia's attempts to get him to be their respective dates.  
  
"Let that be a lesson to you girls," he said sternly to Sarah and Laurie. "Just be yourself when you want someone to be your date." Laurie took this advice to heart and just relaxed the rest of the evening.  
  
The next day dawned bright and sunny, perfect for the first Quidditch practice of the year. The first thing Corey did was to introduce the other team members. He played Chaser, as did the Fourth Year girl, Ariel Jameson and Kyle. The Keeper was a Seventh Year student named Karl White and the Beaters were Jessica Leroy, a Sixth Year, and Malcolm Black, a Second Year. Next, practice started. Laurie caught the Snitch five times, her time improving with each catch. Her last catch took only twenty-five seconds and an impressive dive that solicited applause from her fellow players . and from someone in the stands. Laurie looked up to see Erick applauding from a place high in the stands, and ran up to join him.  
  
"Erick, have you been watching this whole time?" Laurie demanded, feeling a bit embarrassed.  
  
"Yeah," he replied. "I hope you're not mad about that. I just figure that if I'm going to be on the team next year, I might start doing my homework now." Laurie grinned at that.  
  
"Well, I know that I wouldn't mind having you on the team," she told him, watching Kyle score a goal against Karl White. "Karl's really good, but this is his last year."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Speaking of really good, you were amazing out there! Have you ever played before?" Erick asked, dodging a stray Bludger that came dashing into the stands. Jessie apologized as she flew by to retrieve it.  
  
"No, this is my first time playing. In fact, I've only been flying for about a month now," Laurie explained, causing Erick to laugh in surprise.  
  
"You don't show it," he told her. "Anyone watching you would think you'd been flying since before you were walking."  
  
Laurie blushed, feeling this sentiment meant a lot more coming from Erick than from anyone else who might tell her that same thing. An awkward silence fell between them. Laurie was about to get up and leave, when Erick grabbed her wrist to stop her.  
  
"Laurie, do you want to go to the Danse Macabre with me? I mean, you're a good friend and it'll stop all of these other girls from asking me," Erick asked. A strange rushing noise filled Laurie's ears, and she nodded.  
  
"Okay."  
  
With that, she turned and walked back down to the Quidditch field, feeling like she'd just won the World Cup. 


	6. The Danse Macabre

Chapter Six: The Danse Macabre  
  
Heading back to the Common Room after practice that day, Laurie felt as if nothing in the world could upset her in the least. Shortly after asking her to the dance, Erick had left the field to join a few other people from Wave in a game of Exploding Snap. Laurie, on the other hand, began flying faster and better than ever with a happy lightness in her heart. She caught the Snitch more times than either she or Corey could count, and even managed to accidentally score a goal. By the time practice was over, Laurie decided that she had never been so happy in her life. She burst into the Common Room to find Scott and Sarah engaged in a riveting game of Wizard's Chess. They looked up as she entered.  
  
"How was practice?" Sarah asked, moving her knight so that it took out one of Scott's bishops. The knight's horse kicked the bishop over, breaking it into several pieces.  
  
"Amazing! You wouldn't believe it!" Laurie cried. "I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life."  
  
"Well, if Quidditch does that for you," Scott teased. Laurie laughed and shook her head.  
  
"Not Quidditch, Scott. Erick asked me to go to the Danse Macabre with him!" Laurie cried, spreading her arms wide and twirling in a little circle. "Can you believe it?"  
  
Neither Scott nor Sarah reacted the way Laurie expected. Sarah got a funny smile on her face. "Is that a big deal? It's just Erick," she pointed out sardonically.  
  
"Well, maybe I find 'just Erick' attractive," Laurie said, quietly. Sarah's smile became genuine.  
  
"I hoped so, that you weren't going with him just to spite someone else or because everyone else wanted to go with him," she told Laurie. "Now I just have to find a date!"  
  
Scott's reaction, on the other hand, was not nearly as nice as Sarah's. He'd remained quiet while Sarah and Laurie discussed the entire affair, then looked at Laurie oddly, as if he wanted to say something, but didn't dare. Finally, he spoke up. "You'll have fun, Laurie. I'm sure of it." Without another word, Scott picked up the unfinished game of chess and walked back up to the boys' bedroom. Sarah and Laurie looked at each other, quite confused by Scott's reaction.  
  
In a small school like Salem, word travels fast. So, by the next morning, everyone knew about Laurie and Erick going to the Danse Macabre together. Julia, as to be expected, was furious, and kept commenting to Laurie that the only reason Erick was going with her was out of pity. He obviously knew that no one else would ask her and therefore was going to take her to the dance so that she wouldn't be embarrassed. Sarah, upon hearing this, dismissed it as unlikely, since, as she said to Julia, Laurie was much prettier than most girls at the school and more genuine as well.  
  
"Besides, Julia's been after Erick since she met him at the Quidditch World Series two years ago. She's just jealous that you have something she can't have," Sarah pointed out as she and Laurie walked to the library to start a research paper for Transfiguration. "Keep up the good work. I know I'm not the only one who's glad Julia can't have something she wants for once."  
  
They sat down at a table near a bunch of First Years from Quake. Mary Beth McNabb was among them, and she was glaring poisonously at Laurie. She and Sarah ignored the crowd and kept talking about the dance.  
  
"What about Ross Logan? He's a lot of fun," Laurie suggested.  
  
"No, he's going with Kristie. She asked him last night," Sarah replied, opening The Little Big Encyclopedia of Beginners' Transfiguration. "And believe it or not, Brandon Lyons is going with that girl Selena. You know, the quiet one?"  
  
"Wow," Laurie breathed. "Everyone's on the ball about this dance. Hey, I know! I'll ask Derek for you!"  
  
Sarah snorted. "You mean your cousin? That'd be weird. I'll find a date, don't worry about me," she stated. Jolene, on the other hand, who'd just come in, seemed very interested in the prospect of going to the dance with Derek.  
  
"What about. . .would you ask him for me, Laurie?" Jolene asked in her sweet Southern drawl.  
  
"Well. . .sure, I guess. Why not?" Laurie answered, smiling at Jolene. Sarah was grinning, too. Her grin froze, however, as Scott entered.  
  
"Uh oh. Here comes trouble," she commented.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Laurie asked. Jolene looked at Sarah quizzically.  
  
"Scott's been upset ever since you told him you were going with Erick to the Danse. He hasn't been talking to Erick and he keeps telling me that he can't believe they ever became friends at all," Sarah explained.  
  
"Why? What on earth did Erick do to Scott?" Laurie dropped her voice to a whisper as Scott walked by, intent on a table in the back.  
  
"Laurie. . .Scott's liked you from the moment we first met you on the train. Erick has too. And they both knew it. It was a race to see who would ask you to the Danse first," Sarah explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Haven't you noticed how Scott's always falling over himself to impress you and Erick's always talking to you about everything?"  
  
"How do you know this?" Laurie was flattered, if a bit shocked as well.  
  
"They talk to me. Scott's my twin. I've known Erick almost as long. They tell me these things. And believe me, it's a pain being caught between them and not being able to tell you any of it." Sarah leaned back in her chair and looked where Scott was sitting. "Scott's jealous. He'll get over it, though."  
  
It didn't seem like Scott would be "getting over it" anytime soon. An hour later at lunch, Laurie and Sarah felt their jaws drop open as Scott sauntered into the banquet hall with Julia Serpentine on his arm. They stared silently as he gave Julia a smile and squeezed her arm then sauntered over to the Wave Table while Julia sashayed over to Fire Table. Erick didn't say a word as Scott sat down. He simply stood and left the banquet hall. Laurie and Sarah weren't sure where to look, whether at each other or at Scott. Finally, Sarah spoke up.  
  
"Scott, what are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"Having lunch. You?" Scott was clearly still in his bad mood, judging by the sarcastic tone of his voice.  
  
"Don't play with me!" Sarah shouted, standing suddenly. "Are you taking that. . .that snake to the ball?"  
  
"What, Julia? Why yes, ma'am, I am," Scott answered, a smug grin on his face.  
  
"Why? She hates you!" Sarah managed.  
  
"She doesn't hate me, she's just misunderstood," Scott corrected. "Is there a problem with that, ladies?"  
  
Laurie didn't answer, and Sarah seemed too angry to care. She also stood, left her empty plate and swooped out of the banquet hall like an angry owl. Scott looked slightly abashed, but still didn't look at Laurie. She wasn't sure what to think of him. Finally, she managed to ask him, "Why?"  
  
"Laurie. . .I know you and Julia don't get along, but. . ." Scott seemed at a loss for words to explain what he'd done. Laurie, unwilling and unable to listen to any excuse he could give, shook her head and started to leave the room, when a sudden flapping sound alerted her that the mail had arrived. A handsome tawny owl soared above her and dropped a package right in Laurie's hands.  
  
"It came!" she exclaimed. For a moment Scott seemed to forget that he was angry and simply watched her rip the brown paper off of the package.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"My new gown for the Danse!" Laurie pulled it out of the package. Silvery blue and shimmering, it was a work of art to say the least. From sparkling rhinestone clasps and inch wide straps it fell. The bodice was fitted to a princess waist, from which fell the pouf of a skirt. The skirt had a layer of chiffon as filmy as gossamer and as pale blue as a predawn sky over the warmer white layer. Tucked neatly underneath the gown was a pair of the daintiest silver dancing slippers Laurie had ever seen. A rapturous grin lit up her face, and for a moment, Scott forgot he'd ever been mad at her to begin with.  
  
It was then that Julia Serpentine ruined the moment by coming up behind Scott and tickling him in the ribs. He jumped around in surprise, and the smile that had crossed his face upon seeing Laurie's gown faded. Laurie's smile faded as well. She slowly put the gown back into its packaging, preparing to leave.  
  
"Hello, Laurie!" Julia purred. "Did Scott tell you? He asked me to the Danse Macabre!"  
  
Laurie pretended she hadn't heard and, sweeping up her belongings, left the room. She still couldn't believe the afternoon's turn of events. Granted, it was understandable why Scott was mad, but did he have to be so hurtful? She reached the Wave Common Room, where Sarah was sitting listlessly making a card house out of Exploding Snap cards. She looked up when Laurie came in.  
  
"I'm sorry for what Scott said," were the first words out of Sarah's mouth. "He tends to not think."  
  
"Sarah, you didn't do anything to me. Scott did," Laurie pointed out, sitting next to Sarah on the couch. "Besides, I doubt being upset with Scott will help anything. I say we just forget the whole thing and have a good time at the ball, no matter whose dates we are."  
  
"If I ever find a date," Sarah complained. "Seriously, Laurie, I should have taken you up on that offer for your cousin. There is nobody left. Did you already ask Derek for Jolene?"  
  
"Yeah. He agreed, but only on the condition that they sit at the same table as me and Erick." Sarah groaned. "Oh, come on. I'm sure there's someone who isn't taken. What about Kyle?"  
  
"Kyle Houston?" Sarah asked as if she'd never considered it. "No. He's going with Ella. They've known each other for a while now." Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "But that gives me a great idea! Thanks, Laurie."  
  
Without explanation, Sarah jumped up and left the Common Room. Laurie couldn't help but wonder what she was doing.  
  
Classes continued much as they had the last month and a half. Professor Gromoor, clumsy as always, had pulled out a baby mandrake without putting on her earmuffs. She would be in the hospital wing for three weeks; the report was, so the entire Salem population celebrated the fact that, for the next three weeks, there would be no Herbology. Professor Dragona was back in full blast, teaching the students summoning and banishing charms with cushions. It was a pillow fight like Laurie had never seen before. Moments into the class, she and Sarah were laughing and pelting each other with cushions. One of Laurie's cushions missed Sarah and hit Erick in the back of the head, and he joined in the foray. Before long, the entire class, Professor Dragona included, were banishing and summoning cushions, laughing hysterically.  
  
Professor Tournaline was an excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. So far, they'd covered everything from poltergeists to redcaps. After Halloween, they would be starting a unit on the dark creatures that existed in North America, a unit that Laurie was much looking forward to learning. Then, after Christmas break, they would be studying hexes and curses, and finishing the year with a review. Needless to say, it was quickly becoming Laurie's favorite class. Potions was also an amusing class. Professor Cornelius was teaching them how to brew some basic antidotes for poisons. The best part about that class, however, was that it was at the end of the week, at the end of the day. When he was in a good mood, which was often, Professor Cornelius would let class out early.  
  
Halloween day was no exception. Not more than half the class period had gone by when Professor Cornelius clapped his hands twice. "Alright, class. You've done an excellent job today. Have fun at the Danse tonight!" There were scattered cheers, Laurie and Sarah among them, as the students hurried off to get ready for the Danse. Kristie had managed to convince Professor Cornelius to find her some hair potions, which included curlers, straighteners and de-frizzers. Laurie was more than a little eager to see how her hair would look with curls and Sarah, whose hair tended to frizz up on a moment's notice, had made Kristie promise that she could have a whole bottle of de-frizzer to herself.  
  
Up in the Wave girls' bedroom, chaos had erupted. Jolene was moaning loudly about how her dress was bright pink, which she had just realized clashed horribly with her hair. As she complained, Ella was trying to calm her down and change the color of the dress at the same time. The result was a strange shade of purple, which on anyone else would have looked horrible but on Jolene looked cute. Kristie was glaring at Grindylow, who had left a trail of orange cat hairs on her simple white dress. Gruffles, thankfully, had stayed far away from Laurie's new gown. Heather's new dress robes were just that: a combination of gray and purple making them heather. While the rest of the girls squealed about their hair, dresses, robes and shoes, Selena Raven simply perched on the end of her bed, dressed in a long black gown.  
  
Thankfully, by seven-thirty everyone's hair was done, dresses or robes put on correctly and shoes on the right feet. Laurie was quite pleased with the way her hair had turned out. It seemed that her dollop of curler had been just enough. Her hair now curled gently around her shoulders, making her look at least three years older. One of the older girls, a friend of Reagan Waters', had decided that the First Years needed to have their make up done. So she and Reagan had spent an hour working on the girls' makeup with fantastic results. On Laurie she had applied white mascara that made her look ethereal and sweet. Before heading down to the Common Room with the rest of the girls, Laurie looked at herself in the mirror and twirled around, her pale blue skirt swirling around her legs. This would undoubtedly be a night to remember.  
  
Erick was waiting for Laurie at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in black dress robes with a deep navy blue lining. His long black hair was pulled back from his face and he was smiling broadly as Laurie approached him. He reached behind his back and produced a small nosegay of sparkling silvery blue roses. "For you," he greeted Laurie.  
  
Laurie felt blood rushing to her cheeks as she accepted the flowers. "Thank you," she whispered and took Erick's arm. It was almost like a dream as they walked from the Wave Common Room to the Banquet Hall, and upon reaching it, things became completely surreal. Though it had begun to rain outside, the ceiling was full of twinkling diamond stars that chimed like tiny bells. The entire hall was decorated in black and silver, with at least a hundred small, round tables placed throughout. Each table seated eight and the table number floated above it in the form of a black ribbon. "There's our table. Number seventeen," Laurie announced, pointing across the room. She had to speak in a very loud voice to be heard over the sounds of a band that was warming up. From what she'd heard, the White Wizards were very popular in the wizarding world, and Headmistress Frankincense had somehow managed to book them for the Danse Macabre. A few fourth years had already gone hounding the White Wizards for autographs, Laurie noted.  
  
She and Erick weren't the first ones to arrive at the table. Derek and Jolene were already there, drinking pumpkin juice and butterbeer respectively and talking about Quidditch. "You really made it to the Quidditch World Cup the last time it was in the States? How did you get tickets?" Jolene exclaimed.  
  
"I have connections," Derek answered, winking at Laurie as Erick pulled out her seat for her. Moments later, Sarah arrived in her flowing lavender robes. The de-frizzer had been miraculous for her hair, which now shone straight and soft. Laurie was amazed, however, to see Sarah's date. It was none other than Corey Oxford, their house's team captain.  
  
"Hey, Derek, Erick, Laurie," Corey greeted them all. Sarah was positively beaming as she sat down next to Laurie.  
  
"Well, if that wasn't your best idea so far this year, I don't know what is!" Laurie whispered and Sarah laughed.  
  
"It's because of you, Laurie. You suggested I invite Kyle to the dance and I remembered that Corey didn't have a date yet. He was mentioning it to some people over lunch. So I decided, why not be bold? And I invited him!" Sarah giggled with her hands over her mouth. "He was going to go with Reagan Waters, but she already had a date with the Head Boy. So he agreed to go with me."  
  
Suddenly, Sarah's smile froze and faded. All conversation at the table ceased, and Laurie turned around to see Scott and Julia standing behind the last two empty chairs. Scott was wearing typical black dress robes with a deep blue lining while Julia was in a strapless red gown that, had she been a few years older, would have made her look like a hooker. Her black hair was piled in a mass of curls on top of her head and she looked like she had just smelled something disgusting.  
  
"Are you two sitting here?" Laurie finally managed. Scott simply nodded, but Julia went into a long tirade.  
  
"It wasn't my idea, naturally, but Scott seemed to want to sit here. Of course, it could be fun. I see you got your dress from some second-hand clothing store, Laurie?" she purred.  
  
"Not at all. Gladrags Ladies, in fact," Laurie replied. "Though some of us don't need to buy our beauty."  
  
Julia flushed bright pink and was unable to come up with a response. Instead, she turned to Scott, glaring. "Aren't you going to pull out my chair?" she snapped.  
  
"No," Scott answered and sat down himself, looking rather unhappy. Julia snorted in a most unladylike manner and proceeded to sit down herself. She smiled a gooey smile at Erick, who looked away as if she bored him. Everyone else looked around the table uncomfortably. The dream night had just turned irreversibly awkward. As Laurie was about to speak up and try to start a conversation that might ease the awkwardness, a sudden chiming of the clocks announced that it was now eight o'clock and the Danse had begun. Headmistress Frankincense approached the platform where the teachers usually sat (where now the White Wizards were preparing to sing) and clapped her hands loudly.  
  
"Happy Halloween and welcome to the Danse Macabre!" she exclaimed. The entire student body burst into wild applause. "Now, a few instructions before the meal begins. To order your meal, simply tap your plate with your fork once and order whatever food you feel like. Dinner will conclude at nine o'clock at which point, the White Wizards will begin the Danse. Then at midnight, we will conclude the Danse with the announcement of the House Teams. I hope you all enjoy this night!"  
  
With that, Headmistress Frankincense sat down at the long table up front with the rest of the professors. Everyone seemed at a loss as far as what to do with his or her plates, but the headmistress cleared things up quickly. She tapped her plate once and said loudly, "Filet mignon!" Almost immediately a sumptuous steak dinner appeared on her plate. At that moment, everyone seemed to understand and began tapping their plates and ordering food. Laurie, longing for a taste of home, tapped her plate and ordered spaghetti and meatballs. As if it could read her mind, her plate filled with spaghetti and meatballs, doused with a dollop of marinara sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, just the way her mother made it. Digging in, she looked around the table to see that Scott and Sarah had ordered the same dish (a good, old fashioned pot roast) while Erick had settled for some sort of beef stew. Jolene, meanwhile, had the strangest dish by far.  
  
"What is that stuff, Jolene?" Laurie asked, looking at the white goo that had appeared in a bowl on top of Jolene's plate. It seemed to be topped with syrup or brown sugar. On the side were some deliciously flaky looking biscuits and scrambled eggs, and a cup of tea had just filled next to her mug of butterbeer.  
  
"Grits!" she exclaimed, taking a spoonful. "My mom used to make them every morning for breakfast, but I haven't had them since I came here."  
  
Laurie laughed aloud, and noted that Julia was trying to eat light, picking at some sort of pasta concoction. She began to say something when Sarah pulled out her wand, but decided that it was for the better to keep quiet. Sarah muttered something under her breath and Julia's pasta glowed for a minute then settled down before Julia could see. When she poked it with her fork, however, she let out a shriek. The pasta had begun to wiggle like little worms. Laurie immediately began choking a cough into a laugh, as did practically everyone else at the table. Julia, however, did not seem to think that Sarah's joke was funny.  
  
"Who did that?" she snapped, and everyone tried to look innocent. "Answer me!"  
  
"Maybe it just comes like that," Sarah shrugged. "Here. I'll fix it for you." Another swish and flick of her wand and the pasta stopped wiggling. Julia didn't look the least bit grateful and refused to eat another bite. The rest of the table finished their meals, and then divided up Julia's pasta between them. When they'd at last finished, their plates disappeared and were replaced with delicious banana splits and ice cream sundaes. Laurie decided that it was the best meal she'd ever eaten, and the rest of the table seemed to agree.  
  
Then, with a clap of Headmistress Frankincense's hands, everyone stood and the tables were whisked to the sides of the room, opening a wide dance floor. For a moment, the floor was completely devoid of any movement, but then the lights dimmed and a crooning voice on stage began to sing. Several girls squealed and pulled their dates to the middle of the floor, Jolene being one of them. For an awkward moment, Laurie, Scott, Sarah and Erick stared at each other shyly, until Corey asked Sarah if she wanted to dance. With that, all three couples swept out onto the dance floor happily.  
  
"I've never heard of the White Wizards before," Laurie shouted over the music as she and Erick danced to a fast song. "They remind me of the Backstreet Boys!"  
  
"Who?" Erick shouted back, and Laurie laughed and tried to explain to him all about Muggle entertainment. He kept interrupting her with questions about the radio and television.  
  
". . .so you can see colored pictures moving and talking to you," Laurie finished explaining the idea of video imaging to Erick.  
  
"It's like our photographs, only with sound?" he asked. They were dancing to a slow number called something like "I Saw You in the Stars". It was very romantic.  
  
"Yes, like our photographs, only with sound. It's almost like watching a play, you know, onstage, except it's in a box," Laurie continued her explanation. She spotted Reagan Waters and the Head Boy Bartholomew O'Malley swaying by in a lip lock.  
  
"Are the actors actually in the box?" Erick looked confused. "They must be awfully small."  
  
"No. We put their images on a form of tape," Laurie answered.  
  
"How would tape be able to capture images? Do the images stick to the tape?"  
  
Laurie laughed helplessly. "I don't know! Maybe you can come visit me during a vacation and I'll show you," she offered, suddenly blushing. Had she just invited Erick to her house?  
  
"Maybe I will," he answered and pulled her a bit closer. The song ended, and Laurie realized with a start that the clocks had just chimed midnight. Headmistress Frankincense approached the platform and clapped her hands twice.  
  
"May I ask that the House Quidditch Teams please come up on the platform?" she called. Laurie smiled at Erick and went to join the rest of her team on the platform. Corey was already up there, and Kyle was not far behind Laurie in arriving. Nearby, Derek had to leave Jolene's perky side to ascend the steps of the stage. Soon, the platform was crowded with about thirty students, varying in age from eleven to seventeen, all smiling as their houses cheered for them.  
  
"As is tradition, we will announce the team in the order of their ranks from last year, regarding Quidditch matches. In first place last year was Flame House. Team Captain, Matt Marcus!" Headmistress Frankincense called. A tall, burly boy stepped forward, bobbing his head curtly. "For chasers this year, we have sixth year Lena Sampson, fifth year Allan Burke and fifth year Harrison Larkin." More applause followed. "Our beaters are team captain, seventh year Matt Marcus and fourth year Kylie Grant. The keeper is third year Jonathan Marcus and the Seeker is sixth year Joanna Rivers. Let's hear it for the Flame Team!"  
  
Applause resounded throughout the Hall, particularly from a group clad in red on the far right hand side. Headmistress Frankincense went through the teams one by one, listing off the members and their positions. When she announced Derek as one of the chasers for Wind, Laurie burst into applause, ignoring the looks of her teammates. Finally, it was the Wave Team's turn, at the very end.  
  
"Wave House has not won the Quidditch House Cup in twelve years," Headmistress Frankincense announced. "Let's see if we can break that record this year, shall we?" A quiet chuckle ruffled through the group. "Our captain is fifth year Corey Oxford!" Applause sounded from the Wave students. "He is also one of our chasers, along with fourth year Ariel Jameson and first year Kyle Houston!" Laurie joined in the loud and wild applause for Kyle. "Our beaters this year are sixth year Jessica Leroy and second year Malcolm Black. The keeper is seventh year Karl White and the Seeker is first year. . ." she paused, ". . .Laurie Lacewing! Let's hear it for our Wave Team!"  
  
Thunderous applause echoed through the hall. Laurie felt a burst of pride that she was a part of something so exciting. When the applause finally died down, Headmistress Frankincense spoke up again. "Tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock will be the first Quidditch match of the season: Wave versus Flame! Good luck to both teams and thank you for coming to this year's Danse Macabre!"  
  
More applause followed and the teams slowly left the stage. Erick offered Laurie his arm as they started to leave. "You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow," he pointed out. "You'd better get some sleep."  
  
Laurie smiled. "Sounds perfect." Together, they walked back to the Wave Common Room. Before she went up to her room, Erick stopped Laurie by placing his hands on her head.  
  
"May you fly on the breath of eagles with the grace of the most delicate of swans. May the wind be at your back and may the sun shine on your face. May you be safe from all harm," he murmured. Laurie looked at him questioningly. "It's an old Iroquois blessing my grandmother taught me. I hope you do well tomorrow, Laurie. I'll be in the front row!"  
  
Laurie smiled at him and headed up to bed, more than a little excited about the big game the next day.  
  
A/N: How do y'all like it so far? It's so much harder to write something completely different from Harry Potter.Laurie's a difficult character to create and the others are hard to characterize as well. Please! Leave me reviews and let me know how I'm doing! :-) 


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